People’s Participation in Bangladesh Politics: A Study of June 1996 Parliamentary Election

Abstract

As a nation Bangladesh was born in 1971 with high hopes. The historical circumstances that led to the creation of this state drew its inspiration from democratic ideals. The constitution provides that all powers of the Republic belong to the people, and their exercise on behalf of the people shall be affect only under, and by the authority of this constitution. The preamble declares that realization of "fundamental human rights and freedom" is the prime object of the state. Article 11 emphasizes on effective participation of the people. It provides that the Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedom and respect for the dignity and worth of the human being shall be guaranteed and in which effective participation by the people through their elective representatives in administration at all levels be ensured. But the problem is that the political actors have been violated – the rules of the game. The founders themselves arbitrarily transformed the parliamentary democracy into a one-party presidential authoritarianism. Then the constitution has been arbitrarily changed and suspended over and again. The parliament has been either suspended or dissolved through unconstitutional way. The state power has been seized by the military regime through unconstitutional means, thus the scope of peoples' participation in politics has been restricted and throwing the country into a state of political disorder and uncertainty. However, it is remarkable that from 1991 governmental power has been transferring through constitutional means but not in a peaceful manner. The first chapter includes the statement of the problem, objectives, methodology, etc. The objective of the study is to understand the nature and scope of people's participation in Bangladesh politics. It aims to examine the variables and influencing factors related to peoples' participation depending on different variables and influencing factors. The study also aims to observe the consciousness of the people and their attitude toward the politicians and toward the political system as a whole. The study ultimately aims to suggest the right forms of peoples' participation in politics to deter the country's political turmoil, which is an urgent need for the development of Bangladesh. The study used sample survey method, which was followed by personal interviews and participant observation for collecting data from the primary sources. The study also used secondary materials related to this study such as government documents, books, journals etc. Chapter two deals with the theoretical framework of the study. Chapter three includes the political system and process in Bangladesh, which attempts to explore the shortcomings of peoples' participation in politics. In the original constitution of 1972, the independence of judiciary was clearly emphasized. But through the Fourth Amendment of the constitution the judiciary was made a victim of authoritarianism. However, there are many political parties working in Bangladesh but a few have representatives in the parliament. However, major political parties do not trust and tolerate each other. However, the legacy of colonial rule and quasi-democracy produced demonstrative and agitate political culture. Mass media, especially the electronic media, has been always under the control of the government of Bangladesh. The government frequently uses the repressive measure to limit the activities of the opposition parties' leaders and workers who are being often harassed and imprisoned. This is followed by use of force and threat in which politics had always been less open, less competitive and more violent which facilitate the presence of musclemen, and as a consequence limits partisan identity in politics except very few who are committed to politics as a career. The political history of Bangladesh witnesses that power never changes peacefully. Regime changes either by military intervention or through mass movement, which produces 'suspicion' and 'jealousy' and so is the political culture in Bangladesh. Chapter four explores the main feature of political participation through parliament. Theoretically, the legislature of Bangladesh, as a people elected body holds the highest status. The members of the parliament, especially the opposition members, as elected representatives, do not get the chance to participate in law making functions. Here, the parliament is not able to control the executive and above all the members of the parliament cannot influence the government policy or actions. The parliament often works as a "rubber stamp" and the opposition fails to influence or modify government decisions or policies, they lose their trust on parliament and organize violent movement outside the parliament to establish their demands, which results instability of the total political system. Chapter five explores various aspects of the elections in Bangladesh. The elections of Bangladesh witnesses that it has been widely used by the rulers to establish or reinforce their legitimacy, their "title to rule". ln Bangladesh elections takes place in the context of strong political movements. Elections provided the silent majority with an opportunity to register their voice on the hotly debated issues. Chapter six analyses the data collected through field study. It appears that the June 1996 election was free from excessive influence at least at the voters' level. Although the study shows that the election was free and fair but a good number of them hold that winning was impossible without money. A few portions of the people participated in the election actively since nearly three-fourths of the voters are passive. The present study shows that voters mainly vote for party. They mainly expressed their fascination for the party chief. Voters only could recall a few names of the national leaders; even they could not name their local leaders. The study shows that voters are somewhat indifferent about party ideology. The study also shows that candidate' personal traits like religiosity, honesty, efficiency etc. hardly enabled them to get vote. Chapter seven includes summary and conclusion of the study. The study suggests that (a) To withdraw black laws. (b) To strengthen the parliament of the country, especially the committee system of the parliament. (c)To ensure the independence of judiciary. (d) To ensure the autonomy of media and especially electronic media. (e) To democratize political party. (f) To ensure the security of life and property. (g) To prevent corruption and terrorism from the country this is number one problem. (h)Election campaign through EC. (i) National elections under caretaker government and under independent election commission to ensure free and fair elections. (j) To develop the socio-economic status of general mass.