claimed and that very few people were able to vote in Dhaka due to an opposition-sponsored strike. The newspaper also reported that election officials were seen putting ballots in the boxes themselves and that "reporters saw voter sheets in which all the votes on one page were listed as having been cast, while almost none of the voters on another page had voted, suggesting that officials had marked up the lists themselves". Some people were seen with more than one purple stamp on their hands, suggesting that they had been able to vote more than once. Despite the opposition boycott and reports of widespread irregularities, Ershad claimed victory stating "This is the day that we negotiated the last bridge toward a democratic government. Today my pledge to the nation stands fulfilled." Aftermath In November 1986, Parliament passed the seventh constitutional amendment bill, protecting Ershad and his regime from prosecution for actions taken under the years of military rule. Martial law was subsequently lifted on 11 November. In July 1987, the opposition groups united to lead mass demonstrations and strikes in opposition to the Ershad regime. Ershad declared a state of emergency on 27 November. Parliament was dissolved on 6 December, and parliamentary elections were held in March 1988. All major political parties refused to participate resulting in a victory for Jatiya Party (Ershad). In 1988 Parliament passed the controversial eighth amendment to the Constitution, which made Islam the state religion, in contravention of the original secular nature of the Constitution. In 1990 a popular mass uprising led by future Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina led to Ershad resigning from the Presidency, and the country returning to parliamentary democracy, with the Office of the President becoming a largely ceremonial one. References President Bangladesh Presidential elections in Bangladesh Presidential Election and referendum articles with incomplete results