ISAS Briefs

The Awami League (AL)-led grand alliance's 1 Held on 29 December 2008, the elections witnessed an impressive voter turnout of 87 percent. The grand alliance won 262 seats, followed by the BNP-led four-party alliance, with 32 seats, and the independents winning five seats. sweeping victory in the 9th parliamentary elections witnessed the return of democratic rule in Bangladesh after nearly two years of an army-backed caretaker government. The grand alliance was expected to win the polls. However, its landslide victory stunned many Bangladeshis. Former Prime Minister Ms Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), once a mighty party, performed poorly in the national elections. With the return to democracy, there is now hope among the Bangladeshi people that the new government would fulfill their expectations. Ms Sheikh Hasina, the AL leader, who took the oath as Prime Minister on 6 January 2009, has a wonderful opportunity to determine the fortune of the nation. However, her government faces some key challenges in this regard.