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Democrary: An unfinished agenda (Political Party)

Dr. Kamal Hossain

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The transition to democracy in Bangladesh after the removal of an authoritarian regimethrough a popular movement started in December 1990. A Joint Declaration, a consensus

document subscribed to by the three major political alliances, had been made on 19

November, 1990, setting out their common goals. It had contained the followingcommitments: replacement of a "rubber stamp" parliament by one which was

"sovereign", establishment of an accountable government, restoration of the rule of law

and the independence of judiciary, repeal of "black laws" i.e., laws inconsistent with

fundamental rights, upholding the freedom of the press and entrusting radio andtelevision to an autonomous, independent agency.

The rule of law was a priority objective, since terrorism and extortion practiced by armed

gangs of mastans (thugs), had been one of the obnoxious features of the old order. It haddisrupted academic life in the universities where students were already suffering from a

three-year backlog of examinations. Armed thugs were infiltrated into the universities to

divide students and to promote a kind of tribal conflict among them so as to pre-empt a

united students' movement for restoration of democracy.

The civil administration, working for years under an over-centralised authoritarian

system, had become a compliant instrument for implementing arbitrary decisions. With

the restoration of democracy, it was expected that there would be more openness and

transparency in government, more active participation of the people in the making ofpolicies and taking of decisions through an active process of consultation. It was also

expected that radio and television would be entrusted to an autonomous corporation.

Thirteen years and three elections later, the current situation presents a worrying picturefor all those who had wanted to see democracy beginning to deliver. The law and order

situation has continued to deteriorate. This was the result of the continued failure in law

enforcement due to partisan procedures reminiscent of the old order.

The first principle of the rule of law, namely that no one is above the law and that allpersons are equal in the eye of the law, had been disregarded. Armed thugs apparently

under the protection of the ruling party seemed to enjoy immunity as they terrorised their

opponents in the campuses and outside. The law-enforcing agencies, which had been

accustomed to such partisan application of law, fell easily into line and continued to lookthe other way as campus violence resulted in the closure of universities, Rajshahi being

the latest. The shoot out there was between the "student" organizations of political parties

in the ruling alliance.

The principal political parties in Parliament continued to pursue short term advantages. It

had been expected that Parliament would emerge as a strong institution where the

Government and opposition could work effectively together to deal with critical national

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issues. The national issues which called for such a bi-partisan national approach included

violence in the campuses, "sick" industries, the vacuum created by the absence of elected

local government at administrative tires below the national level, and educational andadministrative reforms starting to optimise benefits from development of natural

resources such as oil and gas, as also key foreign policy areas such as water-sharing

within a framework of long term regional cooperation. Unfortunately, the intenselyadversarial format in which parliamentary politics was conducted led to increasing

confrontation within the Parliament and outside.

There is increasing realisation that each political party must practice democracy within

the party. Every party worker in Bangladesh would want to know from their party leadersin parliament why they attached the highest priority to enhance their own salaries and

allowances before dealing with issues of higher national priority. They would want to

know why they patronise armed wings in their students' organisations in a totallymisguided pursuit of the aim of controlling University halls, thus destroying the

environment for higher education. They would want to know why their leaders are unable

within parliament to adopt a unanimous resolution directing the government and the law-enforcing agencies to take immediate and effective steps to eliminate terrorism. They willwant to know why they are unable to call a halt to the confrontational style which results

in walkouts, boycotts and entirely unproductive exchanges within Parliament, thus

engendering an atmosphere which encourages violence outside, in particular betweenstudent supporters of the political parties.

People expect the parties to ensure that their leaders are accountable to the party

membership and to bodies such as their working committees and their council. We cannot

expect parliamentary democracy as provided in the Constitution to work if party leadersseek to concentrate all powers in their own hands, as in the presidential system which the

people have rejected, and why they fail to consult their colleagues as well as to respectpublic opinion at large.

There is remarkable national consensus within the country today, popular unity cuttingacross all parties on the need to end violence to make a mutual effort to create stable

conditions in which our children can carry on their educational pursuits and productive

activities can be rigorously pursued. It is this consensus and this popular unity whichneeds to be consolidated so that political parties are compelled by public pressure to give

up the politics of confrontation and of patronising those who perpetrate violence in the

campuses and elsewhere and instead to work out a national compact on fundamentalnational issues such as ending violence, establishing the rule of law and respecting human

rights and promoting all forms of productive activities.

National unity of conscious citizens would enable them to take meaningful action to

rescue the country from the sick politics which is threatening our future. An effectivestrategy must include taking measures to recover illegal arms and steps to de-mobilise the

armed cadres of the political parties, neutralising of 'black money' in order to create an

environment in which the next election can be a true free and fair election.

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Thus Bangladesh continues to face the challenge of carrying forward its transition to

democracy.

Dilemmas of democracy in Bangladesh (Political Party)AKM Abedur Rahaman

Plato called democracy a "charming form of government full of variety, disorder and

dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike." In recent years the variety and

disorder seem to have outweighed the charm for a number of countries in Asia and Africaincluding Bangladesh. The Western style parliamentary democracy was imposed on the

people of the Indian subcontinent, without having regard to their socio-economic

conditions, political traditions, and pre-requisites of democratic institutions.

The people found it difficult to accept such alien institutions as they were not deep rootedin their political traditions. After the independence of Bangladesh, its constitution makers

adopted a parliamentary form of democracy based on the same model as the 1956

constitution of Pakistan. I would now like to discuss the problems of democracy inBangladesh. Some of the problems are shared by the other emergent democracies in Asia,

while others are peculiar to her. I will make an attempt to make a comparative study of

the working of democracy in the West with the nascent democracies in Asia and Africawith particular emphasis on Bangladesh.

In the West, the transition from autocracy to democracy was a slow and gradual process,

and was carried on in a far less complicated conditions than those which confront the

democracies of Asia and Africa including Bangladesh. As democracy demands people'sparticipation in the affairs of government, it requires a higher standard of living among

far more people than do other forms of government. In the under-developed countries of

Asia and Africa, including Bangladesh, the priority of the people is to strive for economic

emancipation, whilst trying to preserve the democratic values and traditions at the sametime. It is a difficult task to maintain a delicate balance between political freedom and

socio-economic progress.

In the West, however, people with economic means and political weight, who need nothave to fight for survival, can easily participate in the political affairs. Such participation

has gone a long way to contribute towards the successful working of democratic

institutions. A society divided between a small favoured elite and a large impoverished

mass in Bangladesh may not be suitable to develop democratic values and traditions. Theeconomic conditions are mores conducive to oligarchy than to free democratic

institutions.

Moreover, the political history of the people of the Indian subcontinent is more associatedwith oligarchy and despotic rule than democratic institutions. Despite the fact that they

were familiar with some form of rudimentary parliamentary democracy since 1919, they

found it difficult to adjust themselves to such free democratic institutions, which they

considered was insecurely grafted upon their older and more deep-rooted system ofauthority. Consequently, the experiment of such new political institutions exhibited

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certain disquieting features, hampering the growth and development of democratic

institutions.

The small favoured elite groups, who had been familiar with the concept of Westerndemocratic institution, were responsible for its imposition in Bangladesh. These elites,

including some top army officials, bureaucrats and politicians, who happen to exercisethe real power in Bangladesh, have miserably failed to deliver the fruits of its

independence to the masses. They have been reaping its benefits since independence,creating a society with a wide difference between the haves and have-nots. Such

economic disparity between the rich and the poor has led to the creation of an

environment not favourable for the growth and development of free democraticinstitutions.

As perhaps 90 percent of the people of Bangladesh are Muslims, the impact of religion on

politics cannot be ignored altogether. Although the religious groups would prefer to hold

onto Islamic culture and tradition, they have reluctantly accepted the imposition of

Western democratic institutions. It is true that the elites are trying to understand andappreciate the genius and traditions of the masses and the religious groups are also

making an effort to meet the challenges of modern science and technology. There is still along way to go before they can reach an agreement. They must try to reconcile their

contrasting views on politics so that a compromise is made for the creation of a society

where synthesis can be made between our fundamental belief and the requirements of ourmodern life. Such society, if created, will certainly facilitate the growth and development

of free democratic institutions.

The political party is regarded as one of the fundamental requisites of a democratic form

of government, be it presidential or parliamentary. In the West, both the ruling and the

opposition parties play their respective parts in order to ensure that the process ofdemocracy can work successfully. The opposition party abides by the decision of the

ruling party, while the ruling party also recognise the rights and grievances of the

opposition party. Such exchange of views and mutual respect for each other hascontributed towards the successful working of democracy there.

In Bangladesh, on the other hand, the role of the political parties is marred by dirty

political intrigues, lack of discipline and organisation, and greed for power. The role ofthe opposition party has not yet been properly appreciated or understood. The tendency of

the ruling party is to brand the opposition as anti-state and subversive, while the

opposition has not yet learnt the limits of constitutional opposition. There seems to be

much confusion and misunderstanding between opposition to the government andopposition to the state. Democracy requires people to participate in the affairs of the

government. As it is not possible for the people to take part directly, public opinion

should be formed to criticise the government and make their wishes known in respect ofthe formulation of its policies. Democracy, therefore, provides scope for the people to

form their opinion and at the same time an opportunity to the opposition party to generate

alternative policies. Such fair play of power between the opposition and the ruling partyis the main essence of democratic institutions. The well-organised public opinion depends

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for its existence on a responsible and free press, and a literate, serious and educated

public. Bangladesh, like most of the other nascent democracies in Asia and Africa, lack

these requisites.

Periodical elections should be held to determine the kind of government the people want.

Such election can be held either on the basis of universal adult or restricted suffrage. Theadoption of universal adult suffrage amongst people majority of whom are illiterate or

semi-illiterate is beset with formidable difficulties and obstacles. The adoption ofuniversal suffrage in Bangladesh, while disregarding the fact that a substantial portion of

its population are still illiterate or semi-illiterate, was a step in the right direction. In the

Western democratic countries, the extension of franchise had been gradual and wasaccompanied by a corresponding expansion of education.

Whatever arguments may be put forward against the adoption of adult suffrage without

the extension of universal education, such adoption has done more good than harm to the

cause of democracy in the new democracies. It has raised the level of alertness and

political consciousness among the masses and it is through the trial of elections thatpeople will learn the art of self-government. Such elections should be free and fair so that

the will of the people can be reflected in the formation of the government. The rigging ofelections by the ruling party is still widespread in emergent democracies of Asia and

Africa. The incorporation of the provision of a caretaker government in the constitution

of Bangladesh was intended to ensure that free and fair elections could be held. Suchcaretaker government, if composed and operates properly, will ensure that the elections

are held independently without the interference of the ruling party. Such provision for a

caretaker government should be phased out with the extension of universal education,

when the masses acquire the qualities to form their own judgement in exercising theirright of vote without any outside influence.

Regular military intervention, undue interference of the head of the state, heterogeneous

nationalities, tribes and languages, which adversely affected the working of the

parliamentary democracy in Pakistan, did not have any impact on Bangladesh politics.Nevertheless, the military intervention to take over the civil administration following the

chaos and confusion created in the country after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib cannot

be ignored altogether.

Fortunately, Ershad's misrule for long 9 years perhaps put an end to the prospect of any

military intervention in the future. It is true that the socio-economic conditions, political

traditions and the absence of the pre- requisites of democracy did not help the growth of

the democratic institutions in Bangladesh. Such difficulties and obstacles perhaps couldhave been overcome by the existence of one province, homogenous nation, race, religion,

language and tribe to create an environment for the development of democratic

institutions if the politicians were tolerant, well organised, disciplined and perhaps lessgreedy for power. The analysis of the working of the parliamentary democracy from 1991

to 2004 revealed certain disquieting features differentiating it from its counterpart in the

West. The decision of the main political parties in Bangladesh to boycott the parliament

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and resort to violence and hartal in order to force the ruling party out of power clearly

speaks of their intention to capture power without having regard to democratic values.

The fate of democracy in Bangladesh as in many parts of Asia and Africa depends uponthe development of a strong and sound footing amongst the people. This may be termed

as the infrastructure of democracy, which means the movement for democracy must growwith education and economic improvement. The ultimate success of democracy in new

countries including Bangladesh will come only with economic and educational progress,when the importance of democracy as a form of human relationship and as a process

permitting changes within a frame of stability can be appreciated by the people.

Registration of political partiesM Abdul Latif Mondal

Very recently a new political party has been launched to be added to the list of scores of

political parties in the country. Former lawmaker and BNP leader Syed Najibul Bashar

Maizbhan-dari, who resigned from the BNP on September 26 last, floated the newpolitical party Bangladesh Tariqat Federation (BTF) on October 3 through a press

conference in the capital, declaring himself as its chairman. According to newspaperreports, the symbol of the BTF will be 'a garland of yellow flowers.' It is difficult to say

how many political parties the country has at the moment. According to the Election

Commission (EC) source, in the parliamentary election of 2001, fifty-three politicalparties participated with symbols. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) " invited 114

odd political parties most of them names only to a three-day dialogue to talk about the

new voters' list " in July last.

Definition of political party

According to Article 152 of the constitution of Bangladesh, political party includes agroup or combination of persons who operate within or outside parliament under a

distinctive name and who hold themselves out for the purpose of propagating a politicalopinion or engaging in any other political activity. The Political Parties Act, 1962 (of the

then Pakistan) defined political party as a body of individuals or an association of persons

setting up an organisational structure or collecting funds or owning property with the

object of propagating political opinions or indulging in any other political activity. Itappears from the above that the characteristics of a political party include, inter alia, (a)

forming a group of persons who hold a common view about the problems of society, (b)

propagating a political opinion that is different from the opinion(s) of other politicalparties or engaging in any other political activity, (c) having an orgnisational structure for

promoting and furthering its political ideals, and (d) owning funds or properties.

Why political parties are formed

A democratic system cannot function in a country without political parties. Differentpolitical parties may have different political and ideological opinions. One political party

may believe in secularism as one of the fundamental principles of the state policy;

another party may believe in religion-based politics; still another party may like to followa middle path. One political party may be a supporter of a socialistic economy; another

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may like a capitalistic economy; and there may be another which likes a mixed economy.

However, the ultimate objective of a political party is to secure and maintain for its

leaders the control of the government to materialise its political, economic, and otherprogrammes. Furthermore, through such control, material and other benefits are given to

the members of the party. Critics of political party systems, who are disgusted with

human frailty, are of the view that parties are nothing but corrupt and selfish machines,productive of nothing but disunity, ignore reality, and perform a disservice to free

government. Corruption and patronage is not peculiar to party government. In spite of all

such criticisms, the existence of political parties is thesine qua non for functioning ofmulti-party democracy.