Bangladesh held the 10th parliamentary elections on January 05. It was an extraordinary election because it had many unique features, some of which are described as below:
First, out of 300 directly elected seats, only 147 seats were contested among eight political parties out of 40 registered with Election Commission. Earlier, in more than half of the total seats had only one candidate each and 153 Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected uncontested. It is reported that even the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Election Commissioner were not able to cast their votes because their MPs were all elected uncontested.
This unique event happened because the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which secured 33 per cent popular vote in the 2008 election, boycotted the January 05, as their demand for a neutral caretaker polls-time government was not fulfilled. Whether BNP's tactics to achieve its goal was right or wrong, needs another write up.
Second, this election was held keeping the 9th parliament which expires on January 24 next. As many as 284 MPs were sworn in by the Speaker on January 09. Article 148 (3) of the Constitution says if an MP makes an oath he shall be deemed to "have entered the office immediately after he makes the oath." So, the MPs who took the oath on January 09 have assumed office.
It means the country has now two MPs for almost every single seat. Statistics show that the combined number of MPs of the 9th and the 10th parliaments stands at 492, out of whom 162 MPs were elected in both the 2008 and 2014 elections. This being the case the net number of MPs now stands at 430 out of whom only 107 were newly elected.
This being the case, all 492 MPs of the 9th and the 10th parliaments are likely to claim their salaries and other benefits but the parliament secretariat under law can only make payment to 300 elected MPs. The Speaker reportedly said that the legal issue was being looked into.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General has taken the view that since the 9th parliament expires on January 24, the newly sworn-in MPs would be effective from January 25. This view contradicts the statement of the AL General Secretary who earlier said that after the oath administered to the MPs of the 10th parliament, "the 9th parliament does not exist anymore". Therefore, there is confusion not only among MPs but also among people on this issue.
Third, observers say that the Chief Election Commissioner should not have issued the gazette notification of MPs of the 10th parliament knowing well that the 9th parliament would expire on January 24. The Election Commission (EC) could have notified it after January 24 because he should have known once the gazette notification was issued, within three days all MPs were required to take oath.
The existing legal and constitutional issues arose arguably because of the decision of the Election Commission. It could have been easily avoided. The haste of the Election Commission is not understood because the January 05 election took place keeping the 9th parliament in existence.
Fourth, the question of holding election of a new parliament, keeping the existing one, does not occur in the countries practising parliamentary system of government except India. Countries like Britain, the birthplace of the parliamentary system, New Zealand, Australia and Canada hold new parliamentary elections after dissolving their old parliaments. India is probably the only exceptional.
Even in India, statistics show that over the past 60 years, India held 15 parliamentary elections of its lower house. Of them, on eight occasions, parliament existed during the elections.
The formation of the 10th parliament with new MPs has been arguably mired in legal controversy. As such, the legality of the new cabinet formed on January 12 could invite constitutional controversy. Already a writ has been lodged at the High Court Division challenging that the oath taken by MPs is contrary to the constitution, as Articles 123(3) and 148(3) make it clear that taking an oath means assuming office and the MPs of the 10th parliament cannot take over office until the ninth parliament expires on January 24.
International reaction from countries except India, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Nepal, China, Cambodia and Vietnam appears to be negative about the outcome of the election. The Arab countries seem to be quiet and so also Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia as of writing.
The powerful bloc of 28 European nations, the European Union (EU), the US, Australia, and Canada called on all parties in Bangladesh to engage in a genuine dialogue to agree on a mutually acceptable way to hold inclusive and credible polls. They also condemned violence in the run up to and during elections as well as attacks on religious and ethnic minorities.
The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has urged Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to eschew street violence and begin negotiations for free, fair and inclusive elections.
Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the committee, made call to the "two main political parties" in letters with similar content dated January 08. The letters are available on the senate committee's official website.
Reactions from foreign media continue to be critical on the outcome of the elections. UK-based Economist on January 11 wrote a long article on the election. It observed: "Of a potential electorate of 92 million (out of more than 150 million people), only a minority turned out. The government says just under 40 per cent voted in contested seats; others think much less. It does not give Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL), which has ruled since 2009, much of a basis for another term."
The Hindu of India recently wrote that there were no winners in Bangladesh at the election. The Prime Minister must know that the controversy regarding this election would not easily vanish.
Most of the people in the country did not approve that they were not required to vote for their candidates and the representative character of many of the MPs in the new parliament has been seriously questioned by many legal experts. Political analysts say that morality in politics, and not simply by adhering to the constitution in its literal meaning and interpretation, plays a significant part in political legitimacy.
The government faces its biggest challenge to demonstrate that the country is on the way to establish democratic values. It is hoped that early dialogue between the government and the BNP would remove instability which is not only destructive to the economy but also poses threat to the security of people.
Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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