ial direction - to supervise the elections head of government:
selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections:
last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held by NA October 2006); following
legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats
is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results:
percent of National Parliament vote - NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad;
300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies
(the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and
above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members
serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be
held before October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party -
BNP and alliance partners 46%, AL 42%; seats by party - BNP 201, AL 62,
JI 18, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur) 1, other 4; note -
the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned
with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote,
and Jatiya Party (Naziur)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges
are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders: Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA];
Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh
Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote
or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman
NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD];
Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [[Naziur Rahman MANZUR]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM,
OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: Ambassador Ahmad Tariq KARIM
consulate(s) general: 244-0183 chancery: 3510 International Drive NW,
Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Madani Avenue,
G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone:
Flag description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist
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