The eighth parliamentary election, held on October 1, 2001, was unique in the electoral history of Bangladesh. It was held in the trail of seven parliamentary elections, three ¬¬¬presidential elections, and three referendums  since Bangladesh became independent in 1971. Given the tumultuous political history the voters shrugged off all the fears and trepidation and went to vote with the high aspiration that this election would contribute to stabilizing democracy.
THE CCHRB ELECTION OBSERVATION REPORT 2001 prepared in a very challenging situation present information, analysis and insights on events, behavior of the political parties and politicians, legitimacy question of the political parties, electorate, election violence, frauds, election observation efforts, etc.
The report tries to explain how important it is to make genuine efforts by all quarters for building democratic institution in this country. The caretaker government, a unique institution, which came into being because of political parties' credibility crisis, was put to the real test. The Awami League, which ruled the country for its full five-year term alleged that the interim government was not right in performing its duties. What we learn in the end is that the caretaker government must remain absolutely neutral in holding the "free and fair election" and building confidence in the electorate.
With some 50 photographs, maps and caricatures, the 202-page report is divided into four sections. Section-A gives an executive summary and a great deal of information on all major aspects of election-election observation, caretaker government, election schedule, political parties and candidates, preparation of the Election Commission, threats to clean election, analysis of results and the election day findings.
Section-B presents an in-depth analysis of 13 constituencies closely monitored by long-term observers, most of them local journalists. The detailed and close observations in these 13 constituencies will certainly help readers gain insights into the intricacies and myriad issues that a big event like a national election can generate in a small area.
Section-C is a chronology of important events centering the elections. Events occur and we forget. But this section keeps a record of important events, which may be of interest to anyone taking interest in election affairs. This section strengthens the main body of the report.
Section-D has a set of annexes with relevant and useful information i.e., the code of conduct, results, political parties and their symbols, management of CCHRB election monitoring, and a list of abbreviations used in the report.
Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) prepared the report for Coordinating
Council for Human Rights in Bangladesh (CCHRB)
Editing by Philip Gain, Q. A. Tahmina and Shishir Moral
Published March 2002
202 pages in offset Price: Tk.200 US$10
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