Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

36 *Zaglul Haider received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Clark Atlanta University. He is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Currently he is working as a Research Fellow at the York Centre for International and Security Studies (YCISS), York University, Toronto, Canada. His recent book is: The Changing pattern of Bangladesh Foreign Policy: A Comparative study of the Mujib and Zia Regimes (Dhaka: The University Press Limited 2006), Email: zaglul61@yahoo.com 1. Kamal Hossain , “Political Development in Bangladesh,” Contributions to Asian Studies, (Vol.14, 1979), pp.103-120. 2 In the breakthrough coups the officers and their civilian allies form themselves into cliques and secret societies to discuss the future of their nation and to plot the overthrow of its rulers. At some points this conspiracy revolts and over throws the oligarchy .See, S.P. Huntington, Political order in changing Societies (Newhaven: Yale University Press1968) , pp.192-224. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXIV, No. 3, Spring 2011 The Ninth General Election in Bangladesh: The fall of the Nationalist Party and the rise of the Awami League Zaglul Haider* Introduction The creation of Bangladesh in 1971 was the product of a quarter century long democratic struggle against the internal colonialism of Pakistan. In the wake of her birth the founding leader of the country Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib) initially introduced a multiparty parliamentary democracy in 1972 over a one party alternative system to be presided over by him. And later the same leader mysteriously rejected the Parliamentary democracy in 1975 and opted for a one party authoritarian rule by alienating significant sections of opinion.1 The breakthrough coup2 of 1975, killed Prime Minister Mujib, collapsed his regime, and placed the country under a prolonged military rule. The advent of General Ziaur Rahman(ZIA) in 1975 as a de facto leader of Bangladesh politics gave the nation the first taste of military rule. 37 3 Nicole Ball, “Third world Militaries and Politics: An Introductory Essay” Cooperation and Conflict,( Vol. 17, No.41, 1982), p.44. 4 The Veto coups occur when a government in power begins to promote the radical policies or to develop an appeal to groups whom the military wishes to exclude from power. See, Huntington, Op.cit.,. pp. 192-224. 5 Talukder Maniruzzaman , “Arms Transfers, Military coups, and Military Rule in Developing Countries,” The Journal of Conflict resolution,( Vol.36 No. 4, 1992), pp.745-747. Like any other Third World military ruler Zia gradually civilianized his regime. He successfully transformed himself from a military leader to a popular politician and a de jure leader. But the change was cosmetic because the same armed forces still remained active participant in the decision making process.3 The Zia regime ended on May 30, 1981 by an abortive coup that killed Zia. Justice Abdus Sattar (Sattar), the Vice-President of the country succeeded Zia as an acting president and was subsequently elected as president. But the Sattar’s regime was very short lived. Within three months President Sattar’s government was toppled down by the army chief General H.M Ershad. He orchestrated a veto coup4 and promulgated martial law that exiled democracy for a decade from Bangladesh. Ershad followed the same route of civilianization as Zia did but he was not parallel to Zia. Ershad was not widely accepted as a popular leader, rather he was castigated as a dictator. Zia, on the contrary, was the prototype of a patriot, got popular support because of his emergence with the vision of a multiparty democracy against the backdrop of single party civilian authoritarianism as well as his vanguard role in the country’s war of independence especially his declaration of independence on behalf of the founding leader Mujib. While, Ershad on the other hand, failed to obtain popular support mainly for the annihilation of democracy by ousting an elected president, his measures could not legitimize his decade long dictatorship. Nonetheless, he continued to stay in power, because like other military dictators he did unfailingly served his constituency and kept the armed forces satisfied. Like Zia, Ershad also tried to professionalize the armed forces through adequate training facilities and with...