1979 Bangladeshi General Election
18 February 1979 · Zia, Ershad, and martial law · 330 seats
Bangladesh Nationalist Party finished first with 237 of 330 seats on 41.2% of the vote. Turnout 51.3%. Shah Azizur Rahman took office.
Organised by Ziaur Rahman's military government under martial law; only some opposition parties agreed to take part after concessions fell short of their demands.
Prime Minister before
—
Prime Minister (continued)
Shah Azizur Rahman
BNP
Largest force
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
237 of 330 seats
Turnout
51.3%
The result
| Share of the Jatiya Sangsad | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh Nationalist Party | — | 237 | — | 7,934,236 | 41.2% | — | |
| Awami League | — | 39 | -269 | 4,734,277 | 24.6% | — | |
| Bangladesh Muslim League–Islamic Democratic League | — | 20 | — | 1,941,394 | 10.1% | — | |
| Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal | — | 8 | +7 | 931,851 | 4.8% | — | |
| Awami League (Mizan) | — | 2 | — | 535,426 | 2.8% | — | |
| National Awami Party (Muzaffar) | — | 1 | — | 432,514 | 2.2% | — | |
| United Peoples' Party | — | 0 | — | 170,955 | 0.9% | — | |
| Bangladesh Gono Front | — | 2 | — | 115,622 | 0.6% | — | |
| National Awami Party (Nurur-Zahid) | — | 0 | — | 88,385 | 0.5% | — | |
| Communist Party of Bangladesh | — | 0 | 0 | 75,455 | 0.4% | — | |
| Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) | — | 1 | — | 74,771 | 0.4% | — | |
| Bangladesh Jatiya League | — | 2 | +1 | 69,319 | 0.4% | — | |
| Jatiya Ekata Party | — | 1 | — | 44,459 | 0.2% | — | |
| Bangladesh Ganatantrik Andolan | — | 1 | — | 34,259 | 0.2% | — | |
| Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal | — | 0 | — | 27,259 | 0.1% | — | |
| National Awami Party (Naser) | — | 0 | — | 25,336 | 0.1% | — | |
| Bangladesh Janata Dal | — | 0 | — | 18,748 | 0.1% | — | |
| National Republican Party for Parity | — | 0 | — | 14,429 | 0.1% | — | |
| Jatiya Janata Party | — | 0 | — | 10,932 | 0.1% | — | |
| Bangladesh Labour Party | — | 0 | — | 7,738 | 0.0% | — | |
| People's Democratic Party | — | 0 | — | 5,703 | 0.0% | — | |
| Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal | — | 0 | — | 4,954 | 0.0% | — | |
| Bangladesh Democratic Party | — | 0 | — | 3,564 | 0.0% | — | |
| Bangladesh Jatiya Mukti Party | — | 0 | — | 3,363 | 0.0% | — | |
| Bangladesh Tanti Samity | — | 0 | — | 1,834 | 0.0% | — | |
| Bangladesh Nizam-e-Islam Party | — | 0 | — | 1,575 | 0.0% | — | |
| Gano Azadi League | — | 0 | — | 1,378 | 0.0% | — | |
| United Republican Party | — | 0 | — | 389 | 0.0% | — | |
| Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chashi Dal | — | 0 | — | 130 | 0.0% | — | |
| Independents | — | 16 | +15 | 1,963,345 | 10.2% | — |