Government of Bangladesh

The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a unitary parliamentary republic established by the Constitution of 4 November 1972. The Constitution vests the executive in a President and a Cabinet headed by a Prime Minister, legislative power in a single-chamber Parliament, and judicial power in a Supreme Court comprising two divisions ¹. Central-government administration is carried out through ministries and divisions (Ministries and divisions of Bangladesh), and the civil service is regulated under Part IX of the Constitution (Bangladesh civil service).

The Constitution

The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1972 and came into force on 16 December 1972. Its preamble records that the people of Bangladesh proclaimed independence on 26 March 1971, and states that nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism shall be the fundamental principles of the Constitution ¹. It has been amended 17 times, most recently on 8 July 2018 ¹⁵. The chapter that formerly provided for a non-party caretaker government is shown as omitted in the official text, having been repealed ¹. Article 142 provides the power to amend any provision of the Constitution ¹.

The executive

Part IV of the Constitution governs the executive ¹. Chapter I establishes the office of President: the President is elected by Members of Parliament (Article 48); Article 49 confers the prerogative of mercy; Article 50 fixes the term of office; Article 51 provides immunity; Articles 52 and 53 provide for impeachment and for removal on the ground of incapacity; and Article 54 provides that the Speaker acts as President during absence ¹.

Chapter II establishes the Cabinet (Article 55), provides for the appointment and composition of Ministers (Article 56), for the tenure of the Prime Minister (Article 57) and for the tenure of other Ministers (Article 58) ¹. Chapters I, II and III of Part IV were substituted by the Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1991, the amendment that restored the parliamentary system ¹. Chapter III contains the local government provisions (Articles 59 and 60), and Chapter IV the defence services provisions (Articles 61–63) ¹.

The legislature

Part V establishes Parliament, the Jatiya Sangsad (জাতীয় সংসদ) ¹. Article 65 provides for its establishment; Article 70 for the vacation of a seat on resignation or on voting against one’s political party; Article 72 for sessions; Article 74 for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker; and Article 83 provides that no tax may be levied except by or under an Act of Parliament. Article 93 confers ordinance-making power ¹.

The Jatiya Sangsad has 350 seats: 300 filled by direct election from single-member constituencies under first-past-the-post, and 50 reserved for women, filled by election among Members of Parliament ². It sits at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka ⁵.

The judiciary

Part VI establishes the Supreme Court, consisting of the Appellate Division and the High Court Division (Article 94). Article 95 governs the appointment of judges and Article 96 their tenure. Article 100 fixes the seat of the Supreme Court; Article 101 sets out the jurisdiction of the High Court Division and Article 102 its power to issue certain orders and directions, commonly referred to as writ jurisdiction; Article 103 sets out the jurisdiction of the Appellate Division, Article 105 its power of review and Article 106 its advisory jurisdiction. Articles 108 to 112 provide that the Supreme Court is a court of record, that it has superintendence and control over courts, that its judgments are binding, and that all authorities shall act in aid of it ¹. Chapter II of Part VI deals with subordinate courts ¹.

Current constitutional office-holders

As of 19 September 2026:

Office	Office-holder	Since
President	Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (মির্জা ফখরুল ইসলাম আলমগীর)	Elected by Parliament on 20 August 2026, receiving 255 votes against 88; took the oath of office on 21 August 2026 [S9]
Prime Minister	Tarique Rahman (তারেক রহমান)	Sworn in 17 February 2026 [S7]
Speaker of Parliament	Hafiz Uddin Ahmed	Elected 12 March 2026 [S5]
Deputy Speaker	Barrister Kayser Kamal	Elected 12 March 2026 [S3]
Chief Justice	Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, 26th Chief Justice	Took the oath of office 28 December 2025 [S11]
Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs	Md. Asaduzzaman	Sworn in 17 February 2026 [S6]

The President before Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was Mohammed Shahabuddin, who had held office since April 2023 and resigned on 24 July 2026. The Speaker acted as President under Article 54 between 24 July and 21 August 2026 ¹⁰. The Prime Minister holds the Cabinet Division, the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces Division ⁴. The Ministry of Public Administration had no full minister gazetted at the time of cabinet formation, only a State Minister, Md. Abdul Bari ¹⁶. Portfolios were reassigned by Cabinet Division gazette in August 2026 ¹⁶.

Parliament in the current term

The 13th Parliament first sat on 12 March 2026, when the Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected and sworn in ⁵. Members had taken their oaths on 17 February 2026 ⁷.

Transfer of power, 2024–2026

The following are agreed facts of record:

• Sheikh Hasina left office in August 2024. An interim government headed by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus then governed from August 2024 until February 2026, and no elected Parliament sat during that period ¹².
• The 13th parliamentary election was held on 12 February 2026, concurrently with a national referendum on the July National Charter, a document signed on 17 October 2025 by the National Consensus Commission and 24 political parties and proposing reforms to the structure of government ⁸¹⁴.
• Voter turnout was 59.88 per cent, according to the Election Commission ⁸.
• The BNP-led alliance won 212 seats, the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance 77, the National Citizen Party 6, and others 14. Elections were held for 299 of the 300 directly elected seats, one seat having been deferred after the death of a candidate, and results were published for 297 seats ⁸.
• The Awami League did not participate. Its registration and electoral activities were suspended under decisions taken under the Representation of the People Order ¹³¹⁷.
• Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on 17 February 2026, together with 25 full ministers and 24 state ministers ⁷.

Disputed points

The positions below are reported as their holders state them. This reference does not take a position on the disagreement, and none of the positions is presented as the default.

Reported outcome of the concurrent referendum

The percentage of votes endorsing the July National Charter is reported differently by different sources. One source, reporting the Election Commission figure, gives 60.26 per cent ⁸. A separate published report gives 68 per cent ¹⁴. This site does not select between them; both figures are recorded, and neither is presented as the settled result.

Conduct of the February 2026 election

Positions attributable to named holders are recorded here. No position is stated that this site cannot attribute to a named holder.

• The Election Commission published the results and the turnout figure of 59.88 per cent ⁸.
• The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance, through its leader, issued a statement that it was not satisfied with the process surrounding the election results, and subsequently stated that it would serve as the opposition ⁸.
• The suspension of the Awami League’s registration and electoral activities is recorded as having been made under the Representation of the People Order ¹³¹⁷; the exclusion of a party that had won the four preceding general elections is the point on which the breadth of the contest is questioned ¹³⁸.

This site takes no position on the adequacy of the contest, on the conduct of any participant, or on the legitimacy of the resulting government. The disagreement is recorded and displayed, not resolved.

Verification notes

• The current number of constitutional amendments is given as 17, the last being the Seventeenth Amendment of 8 July 2018 ¹⁵. No verified record of a later amendment was located; the amendments proposed by the July National Charter were in process at the last retrieval and were not recorded as enacted ¹⁴.
• The Article number fixing the seat of Parliament was not isolated; the sitting place is attested from the Parliament Secretariat and from news-agency datelines ²⁵.
• The Cabinet Division’s Allocation of Business, which assigns subjects to ministries, could not be read as text: `cabinet.gov.bd` is client-rendered ¹. Portfolio assignments are therefore cited from the Cabinet Division gazette as reported and from the Parliament Secretariat ¹⁶⁴.
• Whether any further cabinet change occurred after the August 2026 gazette and before 19 September 2026 was not verified ¹⁶.

Sources

17 sources cited. Tiers: T1 official or primary, T2 scholarly or curated, T3 media of record.

1. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (as amended) — Parts IV, V, VI, IX and X — Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367.html
2. Jatiya Sangsad — Introduction — Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.parliament.gov.bd/about/introduction
3. Jatiya Sangsad — Deputy Speaker Details — Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.parliament.gov.bd/about/deputy-speaker-details
4. Jatiya Sangsad — Cabinet Members — Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.parliament.gov.bd/members/cabinet-members
5. Hafiz Uddin Ahmed elected Speaker, Kayser Kamal Deputy Speaker — Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), national news agency (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/368143
6. Judiciary of Bangladesh — Honorable Minister, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs — Judiciary portal, Government of Bangladesh (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://judiciary.gov.bd/en/leader-law-minister
7. Incoming Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman, lawmakers sworn into parliament — Al Jazeera (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/17/incoming-bangladesh-pm-tarique-rahman-lawmakers-sworn-into-parliament
8. Bangladesh election results: Who won, who lost, what’s next? — Al Jazeera (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/13/bangladesh-election-results-2026-who-won-who-lost-whats-next
9. BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul elected as Bangladesh’s new President — The Hindu (reporting via PTI) (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/bnps-mirza-fakhrul-islam-alamgir-elected-as-bangladeshs-new-president/article71369253.ece
10. Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigns — Al Jazeera (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/24/bangladesh-president-mohammed-shahabuddin-resigns
11. Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury sworn in as 26th Chief Justice — Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), national news agency (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/345596
12. Bangladesh’s interim leader Yunus steps down as new gov’t set to take over — Al Jazeera (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/16/bangladeshs-interim-leader-yunus-steps-down-as-new-govt-set-to-take-over
13. Elections in Bangladesh — 2026 Parliamentary Elections and National Referendum — International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) (T2, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.ifes.org/tools-resources/election-snapshots/elections-bangladesh-2026%20Parliamentary-Elections-National-Referendum
14. July Charter and Constitutional Reforms in Bangladesh — ConstitutionNet, International IDEA (T2, accessed 2026-09-19). http://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/july-charter-and-constitutional-reforms-bangladesh
15. Interactive timeline: 17 constitutional amendments since Bangladesh’s independence — The Business Standard (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/interactive-timeline-17-constitutional-amendments-bangladeshs-independence-1020436
16. Cabinet Division gazette assigns portfolios to 4 ministers, 2 state ministers — The Daily Star (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/cabinet-division-gazette-assigns-portfolios-4-ministers-2-state-ministers-4253621
17. Reproduction of the Representation of the People Order provisions on suspension (election snapshot summary) — International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) (T2, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.ifes.org/tools-resources/election-snapshots/elections-bangladesh-2026%20Parliamentary-Elections-National-Referendum

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Every factual claim above is attributed to a numbered source. Figures marked “as of” were retrieved on that date. Not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.