Predominance of businessmen in UZ polls points to era of politics for profit: TIB

Political power seen as pathway to unlimited wealth expansion

FE Team | Published: May 07, 2024 02:21:08

The influence of businessmen is increasingly evident in local government elections, leading to a predominance of politics for profit or personal interest over public welfare, according to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The corruption watchdog made this observation during a press conference on Monday, that was arranged to present their analysis of the affidavits the contenders submitted with their nomination papers for the first phase of the Sixth Upazila Parishad Election, reports UNB.
The same analysis revealed astonishing increases in wealth among incumbent Upazila Parishad representatives, outdoing even MPs - although most of them would have started from a lower base compared to MPs.
TIB said there is a growing tendency to view elections as an 'investment opportunity' ignoring public interest, and this has now evidently spread to the grassroots level as well.
According to TIB's analysis of candidate affidavits, the growing influence of businessmen in local government elections is now almost similar to the national election, where the influence of businesses has been noted from even earlier.
The proportion of candidates with business backgrounds has risen by 8 percentage points compared to the fourth election, reaching 56 percent.
Among these candidates, some 69.86 per cent of chairman candidates, 66.59 per cent of vice chairman candidates, and 24.37 per cent of female vice chairman candidates are involved in businesses.
Additionally, 19.5 per cent of candidates listing their occupation as housewife or housekeeper derive income from business ventures.
Speaking at the press conference, TIB Executive Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, "In our country, politics and public representation are power-oriented. Personal gain often takes priority over public welfare. Additionally, principles such as respect for the law, party discipline, and adherence to party decisions, which are expected from democratic institutions like political parties, are now held hostage to power politics."
He said the pursuit of political power is seen as a pathway to unlimited wealth expansion, resulting in unhealthy competition.
"Of concern is whether businessmen entering politics are following proper procedures and engaging in fair competition. Those who still aspire to promote a healthy, people-oriented political culture are now nearly extinct or marginalised in the face of power politics," he added.
In continuation of their regular analysis of candidates' affidavits ahead of parliamentary elections in the country, TIB conducted dashboard analysis and reviewed affidavits of candidates participating in Upazila Parishad elections.
The TIB executive director termed the results of the analysis of the candidates' wealth statements as 'shocking'.
Over a 5-year period, the highest spike in movable assets among parliamentarians, according to TIB's own analysis, had been recorded at a staggering 3065 per cent, prior to the 12th parliamentary election.
But among incumbent Upazila Parishad chairmen - starting from a comparatively lower base in most cases - who are running again in this year's election (phase 1), the highest spike in movable assets has been recorded at an astounding 4251 per cent.
When it comes to income, the highest growth recorded among Upazila Parishad chairmen was an eye-watering 3319 per cent over 5 years, which went up to an incredible 18233 per cent for a chairman incumbent for 10 years now. The highest increase in assets belonging to wives and dependents among the UP chairmen running again is an almost obscene 12,400 per cent.
"From the analysis, we see that the earnings of many candidates have increased astonishingly, and in some cases, the rate of increase of income and wealth is even higher than that of national election candidates. There are also doubts whether the information provided in the affidavits are legit or correct. Some candidates have presented very low income, which is unbelievable."