Women's Reserved Seat Systems in Bangladesh

A fact sheet from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems summarizes the four different ways women’s reserved seats in Bangladesh are currently filled: one system at the national level, two at the subdistrict level and one at the local level. It is noteworthy that reserved seats are not just applied to each level of government, but that each level actually has a different system for filling seats. The descriptions within illustrate the variety of systems through which women’s representation has been addressed in Bangladesh, and the many lessons that can be learned about the effectiveness of reserved seats from the parallel existence of these very different systems.