The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), which is at the forefront of the social movement against corruption, released last month a report before the media containing its evaluation of 15 institutions during the period from August 2012 to September 2013. This report was placed pursuant to the government's adoption of the National Integrity Strategy (NIS) in early 2012. The NIS was adopted with a view to improving governance in the country.
The 15 institutions, covered by the TIB evaluation, included the executive organ of the government, parliament, the judiciary, political parties, police and the media. The gist of the report is as follows: A dysfunctional parliament, an all-powerful executive organ, an 'exploited judiciary' and the increasingly politicised bureaucracy and police force have essentially eroded the checks and balances that are very important for good governance. The TIB has elaborately narrated the function and malfunction of the 15 institutions. The TIB's observations are nothing new to the people. They have been groaning under bad governance for decades.
For example, the Election Commission (EC) has helplessly been presiding over either a rigged or voter-less election without any opposition. The EC simply has to give the seal of approval with a view to giving an election a legal coverage. In contrast, the recent Indian Lok Sabha elections took place in phases spanning over a month and the Election Commission of India kept the ballot boxes under its control, and nobody could think of any kind of mischief which would lead the people to doubt the election was free and fair.
Following the release of TIB report, the CPD (Centre for Policy Dialogue) organised a seminar where concerns were expressed over the fate of democracy in the country. Leaders of three major political parties, the Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Parfty (BNP) and the Jatiya Party (JP), attended the seminar. The seminar called for the revival of the constitutional institutions.
Renowned Indian lawyer Nani Palkiwala made an important observation: when a republic is born, it is the founding leader who creates the institutions. Later on, it is the institutions that create the leader.
In our country these institutions exist in name only. Political leaders, who participated in the CPD seminar, all said that these institutions would have to be rejuvenated and made fully active. Awami League leader and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said that it had become tough for the genuine politicians to do politics in Bangladesh. Nowadays, the politicians do not come from the grassroots level. They are hired or purchased and imposed on the people. BNP leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed observed that time had come to define the term 'politician'. JP leader Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud said the political parties here had become one-person shows.
It is really heartening to note that the leaders of the three major parties of the country had agreed on the need for observing democratic norms and improving. But time is fast running out. Kidnappings and murders have reached such a scale that the people are passing their days in utter panic.
Scores of seminars and volumes of research works cannot solve the problem of Bangladesh, because politics of the country is steeped in a quagmire of confrontation between the two major parties - the Awami League and BNP. The only solution lies in a dialogue between the two political parties. The sooner it is done, the better. Last year's political turmoil has adversely affected the economic growth. Any recurrence of such turmoil will be ruinous.
rezaulparvaz@live.com
Dialogue key to solving political crisis
Syed Mahbubur Rashid | Published: May 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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