---
title: "Constitutional Development and Political System"
description: "Trace the making and evolution of Bangladesh's 1972 Constitution through its key amendments, alongside the structure of its parliamentary political system for"
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/bcs-bangladesh-affairs-constitutional-development-the-political-system"
---

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Constitutional development & the political system

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# Constitutional development & the political system

The making and evolution of Bangladesh's Constitution (1972) through its key amendments, plus the structure of its parliamentary political system.

## The framing of the 1972 Constitution

The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was framed by the Constituent Assembly formed from the elected members of the 1970 Pakistan National and Provincial Assembly elections. The Assembly's drafting committee, chaired by **Dr. Kamal Hossain**, produced a document adopted on **4 November 1972** that came into force on **16 December 1972** — Victory Day, the first anniversary of liberation. Bangladesh thereby gave itself a written constitution within a year of independence, a speed unmatched in the region.

The original Constitution rested on **four fundamental state principles (Mool Niti)** enshrined in the Preamble and Part II: **nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism**. These reflected the ideological commitments of the Awami League and the spirit of the Liberation War. The Constitution established a **unitary, republican, parliamentary** state. Sovereignty was vested in the people (Article 7), the Constitution declared the **supreme law** of the republic, and any law inconsistent with it was void.

## Core architecture

The document originally comprised a Preamble, **153 articles** arranged in eleven Parts, and four Schedules. Part III (Articles 26–47A) guarantees **Fundamental Rights**, enforceable through the High Court Division under **Article 102** (writ jurisdiction). Part II sets out the **Fundamental Principles of State Policy**, which under **Article 8** are judicially non-enforceable but fundamental to governance.

The original 1972 model concentrated power in the **Prime Minister** as head of government, with a largely ceremonial **President** as head of state, and a unicameral legislature, the **Jatiya Sangsad (House of the Nation)** of 300 directly elected members plus reserved seats for women. The judiciary was headed by the **Supreme Court**, comprising the Appellate Division and the High Court Division, with judicial independence guaranteed under Articles 94–116.

## Why the original design mattered

The 1972 Constitution is the benchmark against which every later amendment is measured. Examiners expect candidates to know that the Awami League framers deliberately chose the **Westminster parliamentary** model over the presidential system of Pakistan, that secularism barred the misuse of religion for political ends (Article 12), and that the document banned communal political parties. The original text guaranteed an independent **Election Commission** (Article 118) and an autonomous office of the **Comptroller and Auditor-General** (Articles 127–132), institutions central to accountable governance. Knowing the founding text in its 1972 form — before martial-law-era distortions — lets a candidate trace exactly what was added, removed, or restored across five decades of constitutional politics.

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