Democratic Practice in Bangladesh (1991-2010)

Berkeley Journal of Social Sciences
Vol. 1, No. 3, March 2011

1

Two Decades of Democracy in Bangladesh (1991-2010):
Disillusionment with Practice

Dr. M. Nazrul Islam
1: Introduction
The global discourse on and understanding of democracy reveals that democracy enjoys an
unparalleled admiration as a norm. The survey carried out across all the continents in 2005,
appears that nearly 80 percent of the men and women considered that democracy is the best
available form of governance. The survey further concludes that there are two interesting
variables or perceptions of democracy. One of the variables is the free and fair elections and
the other is the rule by the will of the people. Most of the countries under survey opined very
high on free and fair elections and low on the rule by the will of the people. The gap between
these two variables about the inability to achieve the desired outcome of democracy of the
rule by the will of the people despite going through its rites and procedure of free and fair
elections reflects the degree of disillusionment with democratic governance
1
.
Many of the Third World countries in the early days of their experience with democracy and or
democratic movements had a high expectation of democratic governance, but practically, in most
of the cases, it utterly failed to maintain negotiated methods of decision making and that created
the degree of disillusionment with democracy. For instance, the elections in Bangladesh since
1991 are seemingly close to norms and procedures of democracy which may be considered as
"free and fair", in practice it could hardly achieve the desired outcome of democracy of the
rule by the will of the people- is a question of great disappointment.
In the light of this simple and brief thematic framework, it may be argued that there are about
nineteen countries of the world are democratic
2
. Among the smaller countries, Bangladesh since
her emergence in 1971, has been struggling valiantly in quest for democracy. It is not the intention

Dr. M. Nazrul Islam is a Foreign Professor and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, International Islamic
University, Islamabad, Formerly Professor & Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: nazrul_islam_dr@yahoo.co.in
_________________________________________________________________________________

1
The Voice of the People,
London: Gallup International, 2006, pp. 37-58
2
Kenneth Janda et. al., The Challenge of Democracy: The Government in America, Boston: Honghton
Mifflin Company, 1992, pp.44-53.

2

to malign the smaller countries where their nascent democracy is in crisis. It faces considerable
challenges both in the larger as well as smaller countries. Challenges of democracy have many
dimensions. It may come from ethnic, religious and other social cleavages or, it may originate from
economic depression like unemployment, economic recession or political instability; and or from
a widespread feeling of discontent among the people of powerlessness over their own lives. No
attempt has been made to offer any ready-made solution to these problems, but we do recognize
their importance and make people understand the gravity of the situation for the survival of
democracy in Bangladesh in particular and the contemporary third world in general. Unlike
Pakistan or even India, Bangladesh took only ten months to present a Constitution to her nation
which finally came into force on 16 December 1972. The 1972 Constitution provided a fairly
parliamentary system of government similar to the Indian model but comparable to the
Westminster type. Undoubtedly, this was one of the greatest achievements of the newly elected
Government headed by the Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Although Bangladesh succeeded in framing a Constitution within the shortest period of time, yet
its capacity for democratic governance as a nation-state has been under constant political strain,
such as fostering the transition towards democratic governance since her birth in 1971. On the
economic front as well, immediately after taken-over State power, the newly elected rulers could
hardly make any room for economic progress of the country while the political stability and
economic necessities and possibilities were inextricably linked with the governance
3
.
Although Bangladeshs commitment to democracy and the UN Human Rights was clearly
reflected in its 1972 Constitution
4
, the people of Bangladesh soon witnessed the defeat of their
long cherished parliamentary democracy to authoritarian rule on 25 January 1975. The failure
of the new rulers to resolve the clashes between the centripetal and centrifugal forces of social,
economic, and political cleavages clearly demonstrated their inadequacy as agents for solving
the economic as well as political development problems facing the country.
This paper is an attempt to analyse, in brief, the post-independence political measures of the
ruling authority which not only marked the end of parliamentary democratic governance but also
set forth the authoritarian process in the country. The revival of parliamentary polity and its
functioning since 1991 reflect the degree of disillusionment with democratic governance in

3
John Dunn, (ed.), Democracy: The Unfinished Journey, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, p.x
4
Zillur Rahman Khan, Bangladesh Documents, New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs, 1971

3

Bangladesh. A summary of discourse on and practice of democracy in Bangladesh will form the
last part of the paper.
2: Death of Democracy and Emergence of Autocracy
Immediately after the assumption of the State power, it was maintained that the newly elected
populist Government headed by the Father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur, was beset
by the enormous socio-economic and political problems arising from the deep divisions between
segments of their populations and the absence of a unifying consensus
5
. The Mujib regime
6

neither could involve the masses in its efforts to solve the endemic economic problems of the
country nor they had the capability to address the socio-political problems from pragmatic
perspective. The subsequent transformation from perceived democratic norms to authoritarian
rule on 25 January 1975
7
clearly reflected the degree of incapability and incapacity of the Mujib
regime to address the problems of the people. To the regime plantation of the parliamentary
democracy in the soil of Bangladesh had become the democracy paradox
8

The violent change of the populist Government by the bloody military coup, and the

5
Please see, Arend Lij Phart, Democracy in Plural Societies, New Haven: 1977,p p.16-21
and also S.M. Lipset, Political Man, New Delhi, 1973, and Myron, Weiner and Samuel P. Huntington,
Understanding Political Development, Boston: Little Brown, 1987.
Norberto Bobbio, The Future of Democracy, Cambridge: Policy Press, 1987
6
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was popularly known as Mujib
7
M. Nazrul Islam, Consolidating Asian Democracy, Dhaka: Nipun Printing Industries, Ltd., 2003, p.196
Infact, on 22 September 1973, the Constitution (Second Amendment) Act was passed. It substituted the
original Article 33 of the Constitution by Act No. XXIV of 1973 to accelerate the passage of Special Power
Act of 1974, as well as to make provision for the proclamation of emergency and suspension of the
fundamental rights.
Also see J.C. Johari, M. Nazrul Islam, et.al. Government and Politics of South Asia, New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers Ltd. 1991, p.380 and also see Moudud Ahmad, Democracy and the Challenges of Development:
A Study of Politics and Military Interventions in Bangladesh, Dhaka: University Press Ltd., 1995, and also
see Hamza Alavi, The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh, in K. Gough and H.P.
Sharma (eds.), Imperialism and Revolution in Asia, New York: 1985
8
Samual P. Huntington, Democracy for the Long Haul, Journal of Democracy, vol.7, (April 1996), p.6
__________, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Norman: University of
Oklahama Press, 1991.
__________, Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven, 1969
and also see, Anthony, Arblaster, Democracy, Buckingham: Open University Press, 1994;
D. Beetham, (ed.), Introducing Democracy, Cambridge: Blackwell Pub. 1995.
Sandeep Bhardwaj, Bangladesh in 2009: Challenges After Elections, New Delhi: Institute of Peace and
Conflict Studies, January 2009, pp. 1-4.
Robert Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1987
Larry Diamond, J. Juan Linz and S.M. Lipset, (eds.), Democracy in Developing Countries: Colorado, 1992.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Norman:
University of Oklahama Press, 1991.
________, Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven, 1969


4

assassination of the Father of the nation by a handful derailed army personnel on 15 August
1975, left the whole nation bewildered and perplexed
9
. For the next 16 years, the country was run
by the civil-military-bureaucrats left behind a section of demoralized and inefficient bureaucracies
that were used to ensure regimes survival. During the army autocracy, there was no scope of the
rule by the will of the people nor the democratic rites and procedure of free and fair
elections received any fair play.
The disgruntled people of all strata of social life were utterly helpless but to launch an anti-
government movement which finally turned into a mass upheaval. Following the prolonged and
violent anti-government agitation, the last autocratic regime of General Ershad ultimately had to
step down in early December 1990, surrendering power to a Caretaker Government headed by
Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
3: Transition to Parliamentary Polity
Under the Caretaker Government of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, the nation went to the polls for
the Fifth Parliament of 300 general seats in February 1991. The elections were highly acclaimed as
free and fair, the rites and procedure of democracy. The election results show that the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Begum Khaleda Zia emerged as the single largest
party with 140 seats in the Fifth Parliament polls while the Awami League, the party
instrumental to the Independence of Bangladesh, returned as the second largest party capturing 92
seats. The Jatiya Party headed by the former military dictator, General Ershad stood third in the
race with 35 while Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh became fourth with 19 seats. The remaining seats
were shared by the five leftwing parties and Independent candidates.
In March 1991, Begum Khaleda Zia, leader of the majority party (BNP) in the Parliament
formed her Government with the tacit approval of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. The most
remarkable achievement of the Fifth Parliament was to have the passage of the famous
Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act in September 1991 which paved the way for
parliamentary democratic norms to flow after long 16 years of its absence.

9
Rounaq Jahan, Bangladesh: Problems and Issues, Dhaka: University Press Ltd., 1982.
M. Nazrul Islam, Problems of Nation-Building in Developing Countries, Dhaka: Dhaka University 1988

5

4: The Government of Khaleda Zia (1991-1996)
The first three and a half years of the Government of Begum Khaleda Zia was a very brief period
for a parliamentary democracy to take shape, in spite of the fact that the nation had come a long
way in asserting itself through the democratic means. One notable feature of the parliamentary
democracy was the formation of various parliamentary Committees and sub-Committees, which
were overseeing the activities of various Ministries. Though structurally the Committees seemed
to be quite sound, operationally they failed to be effective. For instance, the Committees on
curbing terrorism in the University Campuses, administrative corruption, as well as the
Committee on Indemnity Bill could not come out with positive recommendations owing to the
lack of any consensus on their modus operandi. The opposition seemed also indifferent to
parliamentary norms and practices by their frequent boycotts of the parliamentary sessions.
In addition to the continuance of the Special Power Act (1974), the Khaleda Zias Government
passed the Antiterrorism Act without the participation of the opposition parties, was, however,
branded as a Black Law. But as times rolled on with its implementation, the opposition's fears
seemed to be waning and the Act earned the confidence of the people as a deterrent measure
against violence and physical damages to life and property.
The bureaucracy, though made constitutionally subservient, seemed to have remained dominant
functionally due to the lack of administrative experience of the Ministers. For the same reason it
seemed that the Ministers were suffering from the initial hesitancy of taking or not taking
decisions which allowed a scope for the Opposition to discredit the BNP Government, as a
government of indecision, inaction, and or inactive. Nevertheless, the Khaleda Zia's
Government was seen to have been confronting the political as well as economic challenges with
calm and patience and without much repressive measures as had been the cases during the
previous regimes in Bangladesh.
4:I Challenges in the Economic Front
The shattered economy inherited from the previous regime was getting much better gradually
under the BNP Government (1991-96), in spite of the catastrophic cyclone and tidal waves that
swept over the eastern as well as the southern part of the country early in 1991, killing thousands
of people, destroying more than eighty percent of the crops, and many more homes. It was the
natural disasters of 1991 caused major infrastructural damages and did make negative impact on
the economy, especially in the aftermath of the earlier floods and cyclones of 1987 and 1988.

6

Thus, the first part of Begum Zias Government was dominated by the management work in
relation to crises following the cyclone and tidal wave of 1991 as well as the economy recovery
programs. Any assessment of Bangladesh economy during her regime must, therefore, be made
in the context of economic constraints resulting from endemic natural disasters. Yet, there had
been significant economic gains over the 5 years tenure of the Regime. For instance the per
capita income, GDP, and the GNP marked creditable improvement.
4:II Political Challenges
Despite the commendable achievements in the economic front, the subsequent political
developments were not any better than before. Moreover, it seemed that the developments as
such were getting from bad to worse because of a grand boycott by all Opposition members in the
Fifth Parliament since the middle of 1994. The issue for boycott was a constitutionally guaranteed
Caretaker Government under whose supervision all the up coming parliamentary elections to
be held. While all the Opposition members were very vocal in their demand for a Caretaker
Government, the ruling BNP's uncompromising attitude on this vital issue was astonishing. The
demand for a 'Caretaker Government
10
was a unique one in political context, yet some prominent
political leaders in the country were seemed to be skeptical about the efficacy of this new type of
government
11
.
However, the prolonged boycott and subsequent en masse resignations of the Awami League led
Opposition members from the Parliament left no option for the BNP Government, but to go for
elections for the Sixth Parliament which were held in February 1996. All the major Opposition
parties boycotted the elections. Naturally the ruling BNP had no difficulty in securing the two
thirds of seats in the Sixth Parliament, and which in effect enabled it to enact the
Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1996 to hold all future national elections under a
non-party Caretaker Government. Soon after the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment, the
Sixth Parliament was dissolved, and the nation once again went to the polls in June 1996 for the
Seventh Parliament. In the June 1996 elections, the Awami League bagged 146 seats out of the
300 general elected seats, and with the support of Jatiya Party (JP) and the Jatiya Samajtantrik
Dal (JSD), formed a ''Consensus" Government on 23 June 1996. The BNP retained 116 seats
and emerged as the single largest Opposition party in the Seventh Parliament.

10
M. Nazrul Islam, Consolidating Asian , op.cit., p.202
11
For details, please, , ibid., pp.201-202.

7

5: The Government of Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001)
After a protracted movement for long 21 years, the Awami League (AL) under the Prime
Ministership of Sheikh Hasina formed a sort of' Consensus Cabinet of 44 members. Like most
of the previous governments, the newly elected Government had to face challenges from three
fronts. First, how to institutionalize the revived parliamentary democracy? Second, how to attain
the target rate for a sustainable economic growth for development? Finally, how to improve the
fast deteriorating law and order situation in the country?
12

5:I Political Challenges
In all these three areas, the success of the AL Government headed by Sheikh Hasina, seemed not
plausible after the completion of 2 years of its 5-year term. On the political front, one notable
feature of Sheikh Hasina's Governance was the formation of a government of Consensus with
the support of its one time archrival, military dictator, General Ershad's Jatiya Party (JP),
seemingly an interesting development in the history of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh.
Yet, the fact remained that the BNP, with as many as 116 elected members in the Seventh
Parliament, was well poised to be the greatest challenge for the AL Government. In fact, it was a
unique government Opposition setting in the Bangladesh Parliament.
The resultant development was that the AL Government, within two years of its taking office,
was facing a series of boycotts of Parliament by the BNP parliamentarians. The BNP seemed
much unhappy with the June 1996 election results and threatened political moves ever since the
AL Government took office. In fact, their longest boycott began since August 1997 against
the backdrop of such specific charges as the a) BNP parliamentarians were denied proportional
representation in the Parliamentary Committees, that b) the Government was tempering with the
electronic media coverage of the parliamentary proceedings, and c) that the Speaker was biased
towards the Treasury Bench members. However, early in 1998, the AL Government took an
initiative to end the impasse through the good offices of the Speaker. In response, the BNP put
forward three preconditions for participating in the proposed Speaker mediated dialogue with the
ruling AL. These conditions were; i) unilateral withdrawal of the well known political cases
against BNP lawmakers and other leaders; ii) allowing at least two main roads for holding public
rallies against which the authority imposed "ban"; and finally, i ii) reinstallation of the floating

12
M. Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh: New Threats and Old Insecurities in Lee Edwards (ed.) The Global Economy:
Channing Politics, Society and Family, Minnesota: Paragon House Publishers 2001.

8

bridge leading to the tomb (mazar) of late President Ziaur Rahman. It may be mentioned that the
temporary pontoon bridge which had been used earlier by the visitors and tourists to pay their
homage to late President Zia (founder of the BNP) was withdrawn by the Government on the
pretext of meeting the communication need in the district of Sylhet. This might have been a
sentimental issue for the supporters of the BNP. However, the three preconditions of the BNP for
participating in the proposed dialogue with the ruling party were not rejected altogether.
In the mean time, the induction of two BNP law markers into the ALs Consensus Government
further deteriorated political situation vis-a-vis the strained relations with the BNP when the time
of the dialogue between BNP and AL was about to begin. Indeed, the appointment of the two
BNP lawmakers into Sheikh Hasina's Cabinet did create a constitutional crisis. The Clause (1) of
Article 70 of the Constitution stipulates in clear terms that an MP of the Parliament will lose his
seat in Parliament if he resigns from or votes against the decision of the party which nominated
him for his election. The BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, accusing the ruling
party for alluring two of their MPs to its side, termed the "tactical move" devoid of
parliamentary norms as well as inconsistent with the constitutional provisions. Obviously, the
AL Government's political horse trading had weakened the bases of party politics in Bangladesh,
on the one hand, and the tactical move might have given rise to inevitable dysfunctional
trends in political development processes, on the other.
Nevertheless, despite the occurrences of incoherent political developments, the, historic
''Ganges Water Sharing Treaty" concluded on 12 December 1996 with India and the Chittagong
Hill Tracts Peace Accord with the Parbatta Chattagram Jono Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) on 2
December 1997 were some of the AL Government's success stories. Although the critics, both of
political and apolitical variants, had raised profusely politico-economic as well as constitutional
issues to reinforce their arguments against the Water Treaty and the Peace Accord, the fact
remains that the Treaty with India at long last ensured Bangladesh's right over the Ganges Water
and the Peace Accord with the members of the Shantibahini marked the end of bloody two-
decade long conflicts between the Government and the rebel tribal in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
13
.

13
Ibid, p.204

9

5: II Economic Challenges
In spite of some improvement in the country's law and order situations and achievements of
foreign policy decisions, the AL Government's economic performances during its tenure in
office seemed not all praiseworthy. In respect of savings and investment, country's domestic
savings declined to 7.7 percent in 1997 from 8.2 percent in 1995, and similarly the gross national
savings marked decline in 1997 from 1995 position. Of course, the total investment marked
slight increases; except for the agricultural sector, which recorded an all time high growth rate of
6 percent in 1997 against 3.7 percent in the previous year, all other sectors, including industrial,
construction, electricity, gas, water and sanitary services, declined considerable in terms of
productivity. Soon after the Government took office, the country's stock market got bogged
down because of its faulty policy. The downward trend in share price index began since
November 1996 with no sign of improvement whatsoever as yet.
On the other hand, the capital city's Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI)
did react when the Bank rate was raised early in 1998, for they thought this would make the
Bank credit costlier, and thereafter would vitiate investments opportunities leading to most
serious economic crisis in the country. Thus, it seemed, not unlikely for any one, to visualize a
gloomy picture of the Bangladesh economy.
However, the AL government's economic diplomacy for attracting the foreign investors was
somewhat to be a noteworthy effort, and its policy decisions in this regard were acclaimed both
at home and abroad. The Government took quick decisions to restructure certain agencies
entrusted with attracting the foreign investors as well as those charged with providing necessary
service to them. As a result, foreign investments in the country increased considerably during the
first term of the regime.
5: III Nepotism, Favouritism and Corruptions
Despite some success in the political, economic and diplomatic arena, the regime seemed to have
been bogged down by the free style crimes and corruptions of its political cronies. It was alleged
that even the constitutional institution like the Public Service Commission (PSC) was turned into
the depot of corruptions, nepotism and party parlour. The University campuses and residential
Halls of the students turned into safe heaven for the terrorists and hijackers. For the last five
years' tenure of the regime may be characterized by terrorism, unabated corruption, politicization
of administration, governmental facilities and opportunities. Against this backdrop, the Eighth

10

parliamentary elections were fought mainly between the ruling AL and the BNP led 4-Party
Alliance.
6: Begum Khaleda Zia Returns to Power (2001-2006)
The Eighth parliamentary elections, the third national elections under the Caretaker Government
since 1991, were held on 1
st
October 2001. The election results show that the BNP led 4-Party
Alliance secured 214 seats (more than two thirds) while BNP alone bagged 191 seats out of 300
parliamentary general seats. The AL headed by Sheikh Hasina captured 62 seats while the
remaining seats were shared by the 'Independent' candidates and other smaller parties.
Begum Khaleda Zia was sworn in for the second time as the Prime Minister on 10 October 2001
and formed a "JUMBO" Cabinet of 60
14
members with 13 State and 2 Deputy Ministers. In her
election manifestos and campaign, Begum Zia made pledges to the nation:
a) to build up a self reliant Bangladesh, free from hunger and poverty;
b) to improve the law and order situation;
c) to curb and control terrorism;
d) to control corruption;
e) to improve foreign exchange reserve; and
f) to put the wheel of government in its own track after reviewing carefully including the
development agenda.
6:I Challenges to the Begum Zia Regime
6:I (a) The Law and Order Situation
After assuming the State power, the 4-Party Alliance leadership declared a 100 days program to
improve the fast deteriorating conditions of the country specially the law and order situation
which was but mostly the legacy of past regimes. In fact, during 5-year's tenure of the regime,
the law and order situation did not improve rather deteriorated further. The violation of human
rights or sending of opposition workers under the bar had been a common phenomenon since
the introduction of the parliamentary democracy in the country. The cases of extra-judicial
murders increased alarmingly. The measures or steps taken by the regime to arrest the on going
situation were ineffective if not inadequate. Common people had to live under a vicious circle of
uncertainty and constant threats to their life and property.

14
In 1991 BNP started with 33 council of Ministers and in 1996 Sheikh Hasina with 44. For details please see
M. Nazrul Islam, Consolidating Asian , ibid., pp. 199-217


11

6:I (b) The Sluggish Economy
It was alleged that during the past regime, the foreign currency reserve was sunk to its lowest
recorded level. The Alliance Government succeeded, to some extent, in salvaging the trickling
down economy of the country. Yet, the overall economic condition was not encouraging. The
much-coveted objectives of Millennium Development Goals and turning Bangladesh into an
Emerging Tiger were frustrated by the powerful vested interests if not the perpetrators
enjoying political as well as State patronage.
6:I (c) Terrorism and Corruption
The most vexing problem facing the Government was terrorism and corruption. In fact, the
defeat of the AL Government in the October 2001 elections was greatly attributed by terrorism
and unbridled corruption in almost all sectors of the State. The 4-Party Alliance Government
could do a little improve to this situation rather in some cases it worsen further. It was alleged
that the Government of Khaleda Zia miserably failed to contain terrorism and corruption, and for
this worsening situation none but ineffectiveness, inefficiency and in certain cases
insincerity of some of her "JUMBO" Cabinet members were held responsible. The survey
carried out by the World Bank, Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) and other
agencies surveys shows that the corruptions in customs and income taxes, police and
judiciary (mainly in the lower level), had been a common phenomena. On the other hand,
transport, public corporate sectors and city-corporations' administrations became a den of
corruption during the 5-year tenure of the Beghum Zia regime. It was alleged that the
corruption and inefficiency at the State's highest levels destroyed the moral legitimacy of the
regime to rule the country. The people lost their trust on the regime owing to its failure to
ensure public safety and to check unbridled corruption. Instead of making Bangladesh
corruption and violence free, the regime carefully established corruption by criminalizing
politics and violating human rights. Among the corruption-ridden countries of the Globe, the
regime topped the list of the corruption. It was alleged that the political leadership of the
BNP failed to deliver perceived outcome of democracy in her second term of 5-year rule. In
fact, brute majority of the 4-Party Alliance made them overambitious, callous, confused and
irresponsible and thereby they appeared to be a possible threat to democracy in
Bangladesh.


12

6:II Abrogation of the Public Safety Act
Among the success stories of the Government, the abrogation of the infamous Public Safety Act
was noteworthy.
6:III Political Challenges
In the political front, the Alliance Government had to face continuous boycotts of the Eight
Parliament by the AL MPs. However, the AL led by Sheikh Hasina, the leader of Opposition
Bench in the Parliament joined the 2001 Summer Session of the Parliament for a brief period but
later on continued its program of boycott for not finding congenial atmosphere for them in the
House. The main opposition AL later on changed its mind and expressed their determination to
join the Autumn Session of the Parliament even their expected congenial atmosphere was not
created there. The AL seemed to be more concerned about the formation of Parliamentary
Standing Committees on different Ministries. In fact, it was surprising to note that the Eighth
Parliament completed its first three Sessions without forming the Committees deemed crucial in
a parliamentary system. Undoubtedly, AL's changed attitude could have created condition to
help institutionalize parliamentary system in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Professor Dr. lajuddin Ahmed was sworn in as the Seventh President of Bangladesh
on 6 September 2002. The main Opposition party AL and some other left-wing parties minus
Workers' Party neither attended the swearing in ceremony nor congratulated the President of
the country. In the parliamentary tradition in Bangladesh, particularly, after revival of the
parliamentary system in 1991, Presidents were rarely welcomed by the Opposition parties. Today,
the country had rolled through long 39 years, yet it could not develop a minimum political
culture of toleration and mutual respect. The negative attitudes of the political actors and their poor
political culture, may not be conducive to institutionalize the system in the country.
7: The Ninth Parliamentary Elections (2008)
However, against the back drop of unbridled corruption, failures, inefficiency and in effectiveness
of the regime, the Ninth parliamentary elections were held on 29 December 2008. Earlier it was
scheduled to be held in January 2007, but due to the unprecedented protests, agitation and
movement led by the main Opposition party, AL, against the Khaleda regime's heavy corruption
and specially elections engineering mechanism devised to favour her regime prompted the
military backed Caretaker Government to postpone the elections for an extended period of time.
However, the Ninth parliamentary elections were fought, between the two diametrically opposite

13

notions. The Awami League (AL) led Grand-Alliance fought the election from the point of view
of secularized Bangali nationalism while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led 4-Party
Alliance contested the election from the "Bangladeshi" nationalist stand point. It was interesting
to note that for tactical reason both the major parties, AL and BNP, have considerably moved
closer to the conservative Islamic parties.
The 2008 elections results show that the AL headed by Sheikh Hasina had a thumbing majority
with 230 seats out of 300 general parliamentary seats while the AL led Grand-Alliance secured
263 seats. The BNP headed by Begum Khaleda Zia captured 30 seats while her Alliance partners
namely Jamaat-e-lslami Bangladesh, bagged only 2 seats and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) one
and the remaining 4 seats went to Independent candidates and others.
It may be mentioned here that in the parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh since 1991, no
sitting or immediate past regime scored so low. The poor performance of the BNP and its 4-Party
Alliance in the 2008 elections may be ascribed by various reasons, nevertheless, the election
results stunned the BNP and its supporters and at the same time, it was assumed that it should
have shaken the leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia in her party as it was evidenced in the case of
U.K and other advanced democracies. The recently concluded general elections of 2010 in UK,
the Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown failed to get for his party requisite number of
majority to form the Government and as a result, respecting the verdict of the elections, he
declared his resignation as leader of the Labour Party. Although similar situation created in the
case of the AL supremo in 2001 parliamentary elections when her party fielded poorly. It was
expected that after the elections result the democratic norms would be set in to choose its
party leadership election. Unfortunately, it did not happen in the case of party politics in
Bangladesh. It seemed that the democratic culture of respecting the verdict of the electorate is yet
to find a favourable climate in country.
8: The Government of Sheikh Hasina (2009-2014)
Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the majority party in the Parliament and the newly formed Grand-
Alliance was sworn in for the second tenure as the Prime Minister on 6 January 2009. and
formed a Coalition Cabinet with 31 Cabinet members among them 23 are Ministers and eight
State Ministers. Immediately after taken over State power, the Government of Sheikh Hasina
renewed her electoral manifestos of the Charter for Change (Din Bodolerpala) to the nation
15
.

15
For details, see The Daily Star, (Dhaka), 29 December 2008

14

The "Charter for Change" or Din Bodol was aimed at bringing about changes in the existing
socio-political and economic conditions of the country along with the change of political culture
and behavior of the stakeholders. In fact, political landscape of Bangladesh has gone through
dramatic changes over the last few years. It is now the turn of the regime to change their attitude
to meet the changing needs of the time.
8:I BDR Mutiny-2009
Within its first month in office, the Grand-Alliance Government led by Sheikh Hasina had to
confront the mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). Without going into details (because the
case is still under trial), it may be maintained the BDR mutiny could lead to an unprecedented
bloody war between the two major security establishments of the country, each equipped with
sophisticated weapons of war. The armed clash between the two security forces could have
engulfed not only the Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh, but it could have spread throughout the
country
16
. The Prime Minister demonstrated her political sagacity and that saved the nation
from an imminent blood shed and civil war.
8:II Epilogue of the Regime
However, less then two years life of a 5-year tenure of the regime is too a short period to
evaluate its achievements or failures compared to the colossal task of Din Bodol for better
governance. However, in most cases, the performance of the Grand-Alliance is seemed not to be
persuasive or its progress is not encouraging except in few cases. It is alleged that the regime
miserably failed to improve the fast deteriorating law order situation in one hand, and on the
other, it hopelessly lost its control over its own unruly supporters who were/arc mostly engaged
in tender-trading, terrorism, corruption, hijacking, kidnapping, chandabazi (extracting money by
force) and in all other vices. And for all these declining situation, the Hasina regime cannot
escape responsibility. In the wake of regimes' post-"Grand" victory euphoria of excitement of
the people may soon begin to wither away.
History records all the recordable events happening in the horizon. Unfortunately, the ruling
circles and for that reason the political leaderships of Bangladesh could hardly conceive the
reality of history that it repeats. The literature on the working of democracy in Bangladesh shows
that the stakeholders of the State powers have some how ensured peoples' access to free and fair
elections by means of the Caretaker system of Government but the people have not yet been
empowered to rule the country according to their hopes and aspiration and that reflects the

16
Ibid., (Dhaka)., 30 December 2008

15

degree of inability of the ruling authority to establish the desired outcome of democracy in
Bangladesh.
9: Indexes of Disillusionment with the Practice of Democracy
9:I The Parliamentary Committees
Parliamentary Committees are the sine qua non of a democratic system. It is often called a "Mini
Parliament" as it assists the House in the efficient discharge of its function by making detailed
examination of Bills and other matters that require expert views
17
. In Bangladesh, the structure,
scope and jurisdictions of the Committees are stipulated in the Article 76 of the Constitution
and the Rules 187-266 of Chapter 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. Article 76
empowers the Parliament to appoint Standing Committees following the Rules of
Parliamentary Procedure. Additional committees are appointed by the Parliament for the
purpose of considering draft Bills, examining legislative proposals, reviewing and proposing
measures for enforcement of laws and investigating or inquiring into the functions of the
Ministries and administration. The size of the Committee of The Parliament varies from 8 to
15 members.
9:II Ineffective Parliamentary Committees, the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Parliament
As many as 1258 meetings of the forty-nine Standing Committees and sixty-three sub-
Committees were held during the tenure of the Fifth Parliament. However, the reports
and recommendations came from those meetings remained ignored. For example, in its third
report, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts categorically mentioned that in most cases its
recommendations were not given due importance and in some cases not implemented at all.
Ministers seldom paid any heed to audit objections and thereby ignored the instructions to have
their extra expenditures approved. The Standing Committee on Pubic Undertakings, which did a
commendable of examining mismanagement in different Government organizations met the same
fate. In this way most of the important Committees of the Fifth Parliament (for example the
Committee for investigating the corruption of the Agriculture Minister, the Committee for Zia
Parishad etc.) remained ineffective and was moribund.
During the Seventh Parliament a number of remarkable changes were brought about in

17
Charles O. Jones, The United States Congress: People, Place and Policy, Ontario: The Dorsey Press, 1982. and
Alexis De. Tocqueville, Democracy in America, New York: Harper Perennial and L.W. Paye, Aspects of
Political Development, Boston, 1966 and James W. White, The Government and Politics of Japan, Tokyo:
University of Tokyo Press, 1990.

16

regard to the Committee System of Bangladesh Parliament since October 1997. One of the
remarkable changes that was brought in the system was that henceforth no Committee was to be
chaired by the Minister. Committee Chairperson was empowered to work independently. Up to
May 2000, 1016 meetings Parliamentary Committees were held. More or less 5000
recommendations came out of the 1016 meetings of the Committee during the Seventh
Parliament, but most of them remained unimplemented.
During the 5
lh
and 6
th
session of the Eight Parliament, the regime failed to constitute any
Parliamentary Committee. However, during 7
th
and 8
th
session, the Parliamentary Committees
were formed. Even though most of the Committees were constituted, however, no lawmaker of
the main Opposition Bench was appointed Chairman in any Parliamentary Committees. This had
adversely affected active participation of the main opposition party members in the
Parliamentary Committees. Nevertheless, it was alleged by the Chairman of the Committee that
the Ministers and high officials of the various Ministries did not cooperate with the Committee
moves or initiatives and thus, recommendations of the Committees remained unheeded. The
Standing Committees may play the major role in ensuring accountability of the Government to
Parliament. However, like the Committees of Fifth and Seventh Parliament, the Committees of the
Eight Parliament were not functioning properly as most of the Minister, Secretaries and other
high officials were reluctant to join Parliamentary Committee meetings and to provide the
Committees with necessary papers and documents. It was also alleged that even though the
Committees took decisions and made recommendations while the concerned Ministers were
present, but yet the Committee recommendations were rarely implemented.
It is worth mentioning that during the Fifth, Seventh and Eighth Parliament
18
most of the time the
Members of the Opposition did not participate in the session of the Parliament, but they joined in
the Committee meetings and made valuable contribution in resolving problems. Despite the
improvements, Committee system structurally remained dysfunctional like that of previous
regimes. In defiance of legal, constitutional and conventional support, the ambiguous
interpretation of Rules, bureaucratic disposition of the executive, lack in the authoritative
command in the Committee, poor implementation and monitoring system disappointed the virtue
of the Committee system of this Parliament too. Bangladesh can further improve her situation if

18
Parliamentary Committees in the Ninth Parliament are yet to take its shape. It may be premature to comment on
them. But the way things are moving, the political analyst and observers may be skeptic about the outcome
and functioning of this vital political institution even in the Ninth Parliament.

17

she utilizes experiences of the leading Parliamentary democracies where Committees are treated
with difference and their suggestions and recommendations are seriously honored. The crux, of
the problem in Bangladesh lies in the reluctant demeanour of the Executive towards the
recommendation of the Committees. Consequently, the question of institutionalization of
parliamentary democracy remains as an impossible proposition.
10: The Speakers Role
The functioning of a vibrant Parliament depends largely upon how the Speaker conducts the
business of the House. The Speaker seems to be timid and shaky because his position depends
largely on the mercy of the Treasury Bench. Article 74 of the Constitution provides that
Parliament shall at the first sitting after any general election, elect from among its members, a
Speaker. The Rules of Procedure of Parliament (ROP) framed and adopted by Parliament to
conduct its business in pursuance of Article 75 (1) of the Constitution have laid down detailed
procedure on the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The allegations leveled against
the Speakers of the Parliament (Fifth to Ninth) may be summarized in following manner:
10:I Neutrality Syndrome
As the guardian of Parliament, the Speaker's behavior has not been always neutral. He had to act
in the interest of the ruling party that nominated him for the office of the Speaker. The
Opposition Bench, in particular the main Opposition party, were seldom allowed requited time to
speak even on important national issues. Even there were instances of switching off the
microphone of the Leader of the Opposition in the middle of her speech in the House.
10:II Opposition Bench Ignored
The main opposition party members' notices relating to matters of general public interest and
notices relating to matters of urgent public importance, etc. had in many cases, been disallowed
by the Speaker.
10:III Violating the Provision of ROP
In 2005, the Law Minister asked his party lawmakers in writing to take permission of the Leader of
the House or the party's parliamentary Whip before placing a private Member's Bill in Parliament.
Sensing that the instruction was not compatible with the Rules of Procedure of Parliament (ROP),
the Speaker requested the Law Minister to sit with his party lawmakers to resolve the issue. But
the Government in the Law Ministry stood by its own decision. This amounts to the Speaker's
inability to protect the rights of the legislators from the executive arrogancy.

18

10:IV Boycotting Parliament Session
Prolonged boycott of the Parliamentary session by the Opposition parties has become an endemic
problem in the parliamentary politics. It is maintained that the Speaker could not take any serious
initiative to end the Parliament boycott by the main Opposition Party MPs nor it could assure the
Opposition MPs that their genuine grievances pertaining to the conduct of business in the
House or its precincts would be removed. As a result, Parliament remained largely ineffective
since the early nineties. The question is whether the existing powers and position of the partisan
Speaker enable him to take steps to make Parliament effective. First, a close look into the
procedure of the election of the Speaker reveals that only the MP who is proposed and seconded
by the majority party in Parliament is sure to be elected as Speaker. Second, the Speaker's
position is not very well secured. According to Article 74 (2)(c) of the Constitution, the Speaker
may be removed by Parliament by the votes of a majority of all the MPs. This means that the
Speaker's continuation in his office depends to a great extent on his allegiance to the party in
power. Third, the Speaker's neutrality in the discharge of his functions and responsibilities in
Parliament may incur the displeasure of the Prime Minister, the leader of the House, and other
high-ups of the party in power. He may not get party ticket to contest the next parliamentary
election. Thus, he stands a chance to lose his parliamentary seat in his constituency and or
displeasure of the party leadership may mark the end of his political career if he sticks to his
ideology of neutrality.
10:V Quorum Crisis
Article 75 (2) of the Bangladesh Constitution clearly states that the Parliamentary Session
cannot be run without the presence of minimum sixty parliamentarians. It was found that
before the 15
th
session of the Eight Parliament, there was no quorum problem. At that time,
there was a practice of bringing the requisite number of parliamentarians in the session by
ringing the bell. But it did not last long, and since then, the parliamentary sessions have been
facing the quorum crisis. It is alleged that most of the parliamentarians, irrespective of their
party affiliations, have less or no eagerness to join the parliamentary sessions regularly. Even
passing of the Bills and opening of sessions without quorum have been a common
phenomenon. Parliamentarians from the Treasury Bench are equally responsible for quorum
crisis in the Parliament.
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in its report in 2005 titled Parliament

19

Watch
19
based on the proceedings of the 11
th
to the 14 sessions of the Eight Parliament
revealed, among others, that a) the above sessions witnessed severe quorum crisis almost
every day; b) of the Taka 22.11 crores spent to run the four sessions of the House in 2005,
more than Taka 5 crores had been wasted due to quorum crises alone. A Bangla Daily
(Jugantor) on 17 March carried a news item which revealed that in the prorogued session of
2005 (15
th
Session of the Eight Parliament) sittings started without quorum on 16 days
against 22 working days. This situation prevailed when the 4-Party-Alliance commanded
more than two-thirds of the total seats of Parliament. It was alleged that the Speakers lack of
neutrality was partially responsible for frequent quorum crises in the Parliament.
Parliamentarians apathy in the business of the Parliament are mostly the outcome of the
neglect of the Backbenchers absence in the policy making process of the Government. This
may be an important variable for the challenge of institutionalization of democracy in
Bangladesh.
11: Unbalanced Institutional Development
Political institutions are indispensable to the success of democracy. In Bangladesh, political
institutions like civil bureaucracies and armies are over smart, institutionalized and developed
compared to legislatures and political parties which are relatively less institutionalized and
underdeveloped
20
.
11:I Ineffective Legislature

The story of the role of the legislative body in Bangladesh is not palatable. Constitutionally, the
Parliament was the only authority to make a law or unmake a law, but in practice, it could
hardly exert or ascertain its constitutional position. Since 1972 the Parliament has been under the
grip of the leadership of the party in power. The Article 70 of the Constitution which is related to
the Membership Cessation Order (MCO) has made the MPs completely subordinate to the party
with which lickets they (MPs) contested the election. In fact, Article 70 of the Constitution
was designed to undermine the rule (of the will of the people) although the procedure of
democracy (free and fair elections) were allowed to continue. However, if the lawmakers are
not allowed to speak for the people who elected them, parliamentary democracy or rule by the

19
For detail account, please see Dhaka Parliament Watch in The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB),
2005.
20
Ralph Braibanti et.al. Asian Bureaucratic System: Emergent from the British Imperial Tradition, Durham: 1984,
pp.7-8

20

will of the peoples representatives will remain remote possibility.
11:I (a) The Backbenchers
Members of a Parliament who are not the members of the Cabinet or some Opposition members
of a party usually occupy backbenchers' seats may be termed as 'Backbenchers'. Our data on the
role of the Backbencher (both from Treasury and Opposition Benches) show that they have very
little (if not at all) role in the decision-making process of the Government. Their participation in
the decision-making was strictly limited due to the incorporation of the undemocratic clause,
Article 70 in the Constitution which restricts a backbencher or any MP of a party to speak freely
in the House without prior permission of the party Chief or the party high-ups. During Begum
Zia rule, a senior MP of her party nomination lost his parliamentary seat due to his
noncompliance with party discipline. In order to turn the Parliament from
dysfunctional to functional and to ensure the rule by the will of the people, all the
elected members of the Parliament are required to exercise their sovereign authority of
speaking freely for his constituency or for the interest of the nation and of getting
themselves involved in the policy making process of the Government, without any
restriction or obstacles and thus, make the Parliament effective. Disenfranchisement of
the Backbenchers invites parliamentarians apathy in the business of the House and
thus makes it a talking shop.
11: II Lack of Democracy in Party Politics
Like other modern states, Bangladesh has political parties but it failed to develop a party system.
The crux of the argument is that in Bangladesh, there are many political parties, big and small,
but there is hardly any emotional or psychological attachment of the people with a particular
party or some parties on the basis of which some concrete rules of political behavior may be
discerned. Further, frequent fragmentation of political parties and the polarization of like-minded
parties creates another baffling problem. Many political parties came into being as a result of
either splits in their ranks or an alliance of various contending factions. Again the
charismatic personality of a particular leader may carry with him a larger number of followers
and float his political party. It seldom allows or makes ways for a parallel leadership to grow. It
is observed that with the death or eclipse of the charismatic leader, the party suffers huge
defection. The panorama of Bangladesh party system is also vitiated by factionalism

21

operating in every political party
21
. As a result, people have hardly any attachment
(emotional or psychological) with a particular political organization(s).
Almost all the political parties in Bangladesh have been adopting authoritarian model to run
their organizations. There are a very few political parties in the country which follow
democratic methods to organize their parties upto grassroot levels. And this may be the
single independent variable for making obstacle to institutionalize democracy in Bangladesh.
Tyranny of the majority party prevailed immediately after the independence in the 1971. As a
result, the system could not bring about good governance and failed to ensure the rule of law
in the country. It was maintained that the growing number of peoples were skeptical about
the sincerity of the politicians for establishing democratic norms and values in the country as
they themselves failed to practice democracy in their own political institutions. During the
military backed Caretaker Government of 2007-2008, some progressive minded senior
leaders of both the major political parties moved to reform and organize their parties upto the
lower levels following the democratic rites and procedure. Due to the vested interests in the
party cronies, their move was frustrated and the reformists for change (Dinbodol) were
branded as traitors or conspirators. In this confused political climate, many senior
experienced carrier politicians felt themselves marginalized, and thereby they may not have
any alternative but to retire from political life, which may create a vacuum in the political
leadership in Bangladesh. However, the party leadership in Bangladesh may be characterized
as political dynasties, and or elected autocracy. These practices hamper development of
democratic values and may bring about political instability, and that may lead to the collapse
of the system
11:III Leadership in Shamble
Leadership is the most important quality to organize the parties and lead the nation to a right
direction. Leadership evolves through democratic practices
22
. Unfortunately, Bangladesh, and
for that reason some other countries of Afro-Asia, has a very poor tradition of having
leadership through democratic means. Here, personal influence and charisma left no scope for
the parallel leadership or collective leadership in the party to grow up through democratic

21
J.C. Johari, M. Nazrul Islam et.al., Governments and Politics, pp. 157-158
Also see Zaglul Haider, Parliamentary Democracy in Bangladesh: From Crisis to Crisis, Journal of
the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, vol.42, no.I (June 1997), pp.72-73,
22
Zillur Rahman Khan, Leadership, Parties and Politics in Bangladesh Western Political Quarterly, Vol.29,
No.2(March 1976).

22

means. Unlike India, it cared a little to respect dissident opinions of the party rank and file
members. During the first elected regime, the seeds of authoritarianism was deliberately
sowed in the country. After the collapse of the regime, General Ziaur Rahman and
subsequently General H.M. Ershad emerged as the most powerful ruling figures in
Bangladesh politics, and during their times, the dominance of the civil-military bureaucratic
elites was complete. And again after General Zias exit, his wife Begum Khaleda Zia
established Prime-ministerial autocracy in the country and kept the party under her direct
control. Later on Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the father of the nation, emerged as the strongest
Prime Minister ever existed in the parliamentary polity. None of the contenders of the State
power left any scope for democratic succession of leadership in their parties
23
. The
authoritarian trends in party leadership made a collateral damage as to sail democracy
smoothly.
11:IV Emergence of Coercive Executive
Unlike India, emergence of all powerful executive has been a serious threat to democracy in
Bangladesh since its very birth in 1971
24
. Almost all the elected Heads of the Government in
Bangladesh concentrated all State powers in their own hands, subordinated or even suspended
the Parliament, or even mutilated the Constitution at their wish. Most of the time, the elected
executive availed the advantage of getting things done through Decrees or Presidential/
Executive Orders by passing the Parliament or when the Parliament is not in session. Apart
from the infamous Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act 1975, the then regime, by passing
the Parliament, promulgated several Presidential Orders which empowered the leadership and
the Government to take any decisions as they liked and even those decisions were kept
beyond the control of the Judiciary.
After the collapse of the first elected regime, the subsequent leaders followed their
predecessor, General Ziaur Rahman came to power through a Military coup in 1975 and
established his personal rule (like General Muhammad Ayub Khan in Pakistan) for about 6
years
25
. During that time, the most hated Indemnity Bill got its passage. However, he was

23
Mizanur Rahman Shelly Political Development and Nation Building in Bangladesh, in Abdul Hafiz
and Abdur Rob Khan (eds.), Nation Building in Bangladesh Retrospect and Prospect, Dhaka:
1986, p.181
24
Samuel P. Huntington Democracy for , op.cit., p.7
25
Hamza Alavi, The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh, in K. Gough and H. P. Sharma
(eds.). Imperialism and Revolution in South Asia, New York, and also see in Kristen Westergaard, State
and Rural Society in Bangladesh (London, 1985).

23

assassinated on 30 May 1981. Thereafter, General Hussain Mohammad Ershad came to power
through a bloodless Military coup on 24 March 1982 and kept the administration of the
country under his direct control for another 9 years until he was forced to surrender power in
early December 1990 to a Caretaker Government headed by the then Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Later on Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina emerged as the strongest Prime Ministers of
Bangladesh ever existed in the Parliamentary Polity. They established Prime-ministerial
system rather than parliamentary system and kept the Parliament and their parties under their
personal control. During their rules, the executive arrogation was complete. Due to Prime
Minister Begum Khaleda Zias arrogancy and uncompromising attitudes, the most
experienced and democratically elected popular President, Professor (Dr.) A.Q.M.
Badruddoza Chowdhury had to leave the Presidency unceremoniously. Again devoid of
parliamentary norms as well as inconsistent with the constitutional provisions, the Awami
League leadership used officials and other agencies to lure two BNP lawmakers to join her
Consensus Cabinet might be a tactical move to undermine the Opposition BNP, but
undoubtedly, it testified the executive arrogancy of the highest order. In fact, the whim of the
party leaderships inside and outside of the House had weakened the bases of party politics in
one hand and on the other, dysfunctional trends in the Parliament had become inevitable.
11:V The Culture of Distrust
The term culture of distrust may be drawn its origin from the legacy of the British colonial
rule during the Eighteenth century. It is evident in the history of colonialism that, by and
large, the colonial administration very carefully sowed the seeds of mistrust between the
Hindu and the Muslim communities in India by devising a policy of devide and rule- which
enabled the British to subjugate the Indians for more than 150 years. In the context of the
political climate of Bangladesh, the culture of distrust has got its own root cause of rule
against the will of the people.
The incorporation of the Article 70 in the Constitution attempts to cease the freedom or
liberty of a party MP to speak freely or cast his vote in the House against the decision of the
party (ruling or Opposition) with which ticked he was elected in the Parliament is an example

Also see C.H. Dodd, Political Development, London: 1972, p.15

24

of distrusting of its own party MP. A senior Opposition MP had to lose his parliamentary seat
due to his non-compliance of the party leaderships directives. This was a syndrome of
distrust
26
that created a situation of apathy and distastes among the MPs (ruling and
Opposition) about the efficacy and utility of the House.
Again, the drastic change of the Constitution in 1975 without having fresh mandate from the
electorates was another symptom of distrust between the ruler and ruled. In fact, the Fourth
Amendment to the Constitution created a full-blown constitutional crisis that enabled extra-
constitutional elements to keep the country under the clutches of their personal rule for more
than 15 years. Again, the political communication between the two major partners of the State
power since 1991 are hardly noticeable. Even at the critical juncture of the nation, like natural
disasters or national issues like water crisis, insurgency, law and order situation, corruptions,
etc., the two leaders were not found sitting across the table to hammer out solutions of the
crisis facing the country. The country belongs to the people, not to any individual, should
be the guiding principle to rule the country.
Finally, the question of impartiality of the Caretaker Government which successfully managed
to hold last three general elections in a free and fair environment and earned national and
international acclamation, had been the subject of criticism mainly for the trust deficit on the
part of the loser parties. However, the elections engineering mechanism, political intrigues
and corruption of the outgoing BNP regime triggered unprecedented protest and movements
in the country prompted the military backed Caretaker Government to declare state of
emergency and to postpone the election for more than a year. As a corollary to the Caretaker
Governments action, the country apparently plunged into another constitutional crisis of
legitimacy of the non-elected Caretaker Governments stay in power beyond the 90 days
constitutional provision of limitation.
The need of the hour is to inculcate trust and discipline in the body politic and to graduate
from an elected to a participatory-democracy (Iqbal Jafar, Dawn, 02 April 2010). Its total
absence in political culture of Bangladesh is at the root of culture of distrust or trust deficit
between the stakeholders of the State and between the rulers and ruled.

26
See also, Iqbal Jafar, Culture of Distrust, Dawan (Islamabad) 2 April 2010, p.7

25

12: Concluding Remarks
Most of the South Asian countries including Bangladesh and Pakistan have experienced
democracy for fairly a long period of time, but the way it unfolded since their independence in
1947 and 1971 respectively disillusioned the people and political observers. After a protracted
movement for more than a decade, people of Bangladesh were able to defeat the army
autocracy and return to a much-coveted parliamentary governance in 1991. It rekindled
aspirations and expectations among the masses for a Change for a better governance and
economic opportunities. The euphoria of democracy soon faded away due to the subsequent
regimes unabated corruption, terrorism, fast deteriorating law and order situation, free style
crimes, hijacking, kidnapping, politicization of administration, governmental facilities and
opportunities. It was alleged that for all these vices and declining situation, the subsequent
regimes failures, inefficiency and irresponsible attitude and ineffectiveness were largely held
responsible.
The people of Bangladesh are highly politicized. They are fully aware of their right to rule.
They are committed to establish participatory-democracy through free and fair elections.
Although democratic rites and procedures of free and fair elections legalized the authority of
the party/ parties to govern the country, but the ruling elites inability or incapability to realize
the gravity of the rule by the will of the people (democratic outcome), compelled the
electorate to reject both the popular leaderships of the country in the 1996, 2001and 2008
General Elections respectively. The electoral debacles of the BNP and AL in the 1996, 2001
and 2008 General Elections were a clear message for the contending parties to change their
authoritarian culture of politics be at the party or leadership levels and thus, to pave the way
for good governance ensuring peoples participation. In the last 2008 General Elections, the
BNP lost its mandate to govern the country, and the voters verdict gave the Awami League
legitimacy to run the show and provided them another opportunity to substantiate the desired
outcome of the democracy that they rule by the will of the people lest not they lose moral
credibility to govern the country.
The balance sheet of the two-decade of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh presents a
bleak picture where dividends of democracy are few if not insignificant while the debit side of
the account is shocking and perplexing. The voting behavior of the electorates in Bangladesh
indicates that the vast majority of them holds democracy to be the best available form of

26

governance, but at the same time, they are disillusioned with the outcome of democracy as an
insignificant number of them hardly experienced the rule by the will of the people.
The enormous gap between the norms and practice of democracy in Bangladesh is perhaps its
greatest challenge or crisis of today. Thus, the growing public disillusionment and
resentment with the outcome of democracy may be used by the extra-constitutional elements
to justify another spell of authoritarian rule in Bangladesh and that may frustrate the long
cherished goal of democracy in the country.
In the likely eventuality, Bangladesh needs a strong political leadership that can build up a
progressive political party to help creating a corruption-free society. Bangladesh is plagued
with multiple crises. Any half-hearted attempts may not resolve its problems. The Bangladesh
leadership can deliver quick and effective results, first, by empowering masses and increasing
political communication between the peoples (ground reality) and the Government; secondly
by building infrastructure for future development; thirdly by developing agents of socio-
cultural change like education (Bhardwaj, Sandeep, 2009) and finally by improving relations
and cooperation with its SAARC stakeholders.


27

Selected Readings

Ahmed, Moudud, Democracy and the Challenge of Development: A Study of Politics and
Military Interventions in Bangladesh, Dhaka: University Press Ltd., 1995.

Alavi, Hamza, The State in Post-Colonial Societies: Pakistan and Bangladesh, in K. Gough
and H.P. Sharma (eds.), Imperialism and Revolution in South Asia, New York: 1985

Arblaster, Anthony, Democracy, Buckingham: Open University Press, 1994.

Beetham, D. (ed.), Introducing Democracy, Cambridge: Blackwell Pub. 1995.

Bhardwaj, Sandeep, Bangladesh in 2009: Challenges After Elections, New Delhi: Institute
of Peace and Conflict Studies, January 2009, pp. 1-4.

Bobbio, Norberto, The Future of Democracy, Cambridge: Policy Press, 1987.

Braibani, Ralph, et.al. Asian Bureaucratic System: Emergence from the British Imperial
Tradition, Durham, 1984

Dahl, Robert, Democracy and its Critics, New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1987.

Dodd, C.H., Political Development, London: 1972, p.15

Diamond, Larry, Linz, Juan J., Lipset, S. M. (eds.), Democracy in Developing Countries:
Colorado, 1992.

Dunn, John (ed.), Democracy: The Unfinished Journey, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1992.

Gallup International, The Voice of the People, London: 2006, pp. 37-38.

Haider, Zaglul, Parliamentary Democracy in Bangladesh: from Crisis to Crisis, Journal of
the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh vol.42, no:I, June 1997.

Huntington, Samuel P., Democracy for the Long Haul. The Journal of Democracy, vol.7.
April 1996.

_________, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Norman:
University of Oklahama Press, 1991.

________, Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven, 1969

Islam, M. Nazrul, Bangladesh in J.C. Johari et. al., Government and Politics of South Asia,
New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Ltd., 1991.

________, Consolidating Asian Democracy, Dhaka, 2003.

_________, Problems of Nation-Building in Developing Countries, Dhaka: Dhaka
University 1988.

_________, Bangladesh: New Threats and Old Insecurities in Lee Edwards (ed.) The
Global Economy: Changing Politics, Society and Family, Minnesota: Paragon
House Publishers 2001.


28

Jafar, Iqbal, Culture of Distrust, Dawn (Islamabad) 2 April 2010, p.7

Jahan, Rounaq, Bangladesh: Problems and Issues, Dhaka: University Press Ltd., 1980.

Janda, Kenneth et. al., The Challenge of Democracy: Government in America, Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.

Jones, Charles O., The United States Congress: People, Place and Policy, Ontario: The
Dorsey Press, 1982.

Khan, Zillur R., Leadership, Parties and Politics in Bangladesh Western Political
Quarterly, Vol.29, No.2(March 1976).

________, Bangladesh Documents, New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs, 1971.

Lij Phart, Arend, Democracy in Plural Societies, New Haven, 1977.

Lipset, S. M. Political Man, New Delhi, 1973.

Myron Weiner and Huntington, Samuel P., Understanding Political Development, Boston:
Little Brown, 1987.

Pye, L.W., Aspects of Political Development, Boston, 1966.

Shelly, Mizanur Rahman, Political Development and Nation Building in Bangladesh, in Abdul
Hafiz and Abdur Rob Khan (eds.), Nation Building in Bangladesh Retrospect and Prospect, Dhaka:
1986, p.181

The Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB), Parliament Watch, 2005

Tocqueville, Alexis De., Democracy in America New York: Harper Perennial, 1996.

Westergaard, Kristen, State and Rural Society in Bangladesh (London, 1985), p. 12.

White, James W., The Government And Politics of Japan, Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press,
1990.

Dawn (Karachi) 02 April 2010.

The Morning Sun (Dhaka) 8 December 1993.

The Daily Star (Dhaka), 31 May 1994, 03 December 1997, 14 February 1998, 29-30
December 2008, 7 January 2009

Chamber News, December 1997.

Holiday, (Dhaka), 02 January 1998.

Dawn (Islamabad), 2 April 2010

Democratic Practice in Bangladesh (1991-2010)

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Democratic Practice in Bangladesh (1991-2010)

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Berkeley Journal of Social Sciences

Vol. 1, No. 3, March 2011

Anda mungkin juga menyukai