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2007 Assessment

Bangladesh: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bangladesh: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Voting & Citizen Participation
Indicators		Score
14	Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?	100
15	Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?	67
16	Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?	80

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?

14a: In law, universal and equal adult suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens.

Score:

YES

Comments: The election law lay down the manner in which the electoral right, including the right to vote and the right to a stand as a candidate, is to be exercised. The constitution of Bangladesh stipulates in Article 11 that " The Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for dignity and worth of the human persons shall be guarranted, and in which effective particiaption by the people through their elected representatives in administration at all levels, shall be ensured."

Article 122 (1) states that " The elections to Parliament shall be on the basis of adult franchise." Article 122(2) states that, " A person shall be entitled to be enrolled on the electoral roll for a constituency delimited for the purpose of election to the Parliament, if he-- (a) is a citizen of Bangladesh; (b) is not less than 18 years of age; (c) does not stand declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind; (d) is or is deemed by law to be a resident of that constituency."

Article 22 (1) of the Local Government (Union Parishads) Ordinance, 1983 provides that " Every person whose name is for the time being entered in the electoral roll of a ward shall be entitled to vote at an election of a member, other than in reserved seats for that ward." Article 22 (2) of the Local Government (Union Parishads) Ordinance, 1983 provides that " every person whose name is for the time being entered in the electoral roll of a ward of a union shall be entitled to vote an election of chairman for that union."

References: Art. 11, 27, 122 (1,2) of Bangladesh Constitution [ LINK ];

Art. 22 the Local Government (Union Parishads) Ordinance, 1983

14b: In law, there is a legal framework requiring that elections be held at regular intervals.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Art. 123 of Bangladesh Constitution.

Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?

15a: In practice, all adult citizens can vote.

Score:

100

Comments: In Bangladesh, it was found from the previous national and local govt. elections that in a few places, the actual voters were restraining from voting because they received threats. The following irregularities or malpractices have been identified in few places from different research and monitoring reports are as follows:

(i) forces taking control of some voting centers for partisan candidates; (ii) distributing the excess ballot papers; (iii) false vote-casting, etc.

References: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003, Bangladesh, Feb. 25, 2004, [ LINK ]

Transparency International Bangladesh A working paper on Bangladesh Election Commission, Nov. 6, 2006, www.ti-bangladesh.org

EU Election Observation Mission, Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections, Oct. 1, 2001;

2. Muhammad Nurul Huda, 'Electoral Malpractices: Problems and Prescriptions' The Daily Star, Nov. 10, 2005

15b: In practice, ballots are secret or equivalently protected.

Score:

100

Comments: Till date, the Election Commission of Bangladesh does not introduce transparent ballot box although it is demanded since long time from different corners. The present caretaker govt. is thinking positively about transparent ballot boxes to eliminate electoral fraud and controlling violence. The following irregularities or malpractices have been identified in few places from different research and monitoring reports are as follows:

(i) forces taking control of some voting centers for partisan candidates; (ii) distributing the excess ballot papers; (iii) false vote-casting, etc.

References: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003, Bangladesh, Feb. 25, 2004, [ LINK ]

Transparency International Bangladesh A working paper on Bangladesh Election Commission, Nov. 6, 2006, www.ti-bangladesh.org

EU Election Observation Mission, Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections, Oct. 1, 2001;

2. Muhammad Nurul Huda, 'Electoral Malpractices: Problems and Prescriptions' The Daily Star, Nov. 10, 2005

Peer Review Comments: Ballots are secret but not always protected. Media reports have said that the security forces found a sackfull of ballots on a roadside of Dohar, a constituency near Dhaka. Moreover, while the ballots are moved to remote centers before the voting date, their security is very often fragile.

Peer Review Comments: Now there is a demand for introducing transparent ballot boxes in all national elections so that polling agents inside the voting rooms can see all ballot boxes are empty before using.

15c: In practice, elections are held according to a regular schedule.

Score:

100

Comments: The country experienced upheavals in the first 20 years of nationhood after the 1971 war of liberation. In 1990, a quasi-military regime came to an end, and a caretaker government was established. In early 1991, national elections were held. After reconstituting the parliamentary democracy in 1991, national elections were held in Bangladesh in 1991, 1996 and 2001. The next elections were scheduled for January 2007, but on Jan. 11, 2007, the president of Bangladesh declared the state of emergency, under articles 141A (1), (2), (3), 141B, 141C (1), (2) and (3) of the constitution, as it is to the president's satisfaction that a grave emergency exists, in which the security or economic life of Bangladesh is threatened by internal disturbance. Elections were effectively postponed and scheduled for Jan. 22, 2007.

References: Bangladesh Election Commission, [ LINK ]

The Daily Star Jan. 12 2007, [ LINK ]

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003, Bangladesh, Feb. 25, 2004, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: In fact, elections at regular intervals were hardly followed. See the years of previous elections (i) Eight parliamentary elections held in 1973, 1979,1986, 1988, 1991, Feb. 15, 1996 and June 12, 2001. The last elections were scheduled to be held in January 2007, but they were suspended under a state of emergency following violent street protests. (ii) Three presidential elections held in 1978, 1981 and 1986. (iii) Three referendums held in 1977, 1985 and 1991 (Source: Election Commission Secretariat)

Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?

16a: In law, all citizens have a right to form political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: The constitution provides for the right of every citizen to form associations, subject to "reasonable restrictions" in the interest of morality or public order, and the government generally respected this right. Individuals were free to join private groups.

References: Art. 38 of the Constitution [ LINK ]

16b: In law, all citizens have a right to run for political office.

Score:

YES

Comments: Article 38 of the constitution states that "every citizen shall have the right to form association or unions, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of morality or public order." Article 152 of the Constitution states that "Political Party" includes a group 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 political opinion or engaging in any other political activity." Article 90A. (3) (b) of " The Representation of the People Order, 1972" provides that -An application under clause (1) shall contain " the address of its Head Office, name of point of contact, telephone and fax number" which clearly indicates the right of the citizens to run for political office.

References: Arts.38, 152 of the Constitution [ LINK ];

Art. 90A. 3 (b) of Chapter VIA of " The Representation of the People Order, 1972", President's Order No. 155 of 1972.

16c: In practice, all citizens are able to form political parties.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: While there is no guarantee of electoral success, political parties can form freely without opposition. <p>50 Score Criteria: Some barriers to formation are present, such as burdensome registration requirements that may not be fairly applied. Some parties\' political viewpoints may draw pressure from the government, such as surveillance or intimidation. Some political parties or organizations may have extra barriers to getting on a ballot. <p>0 Score Criteria: Some political parties are effectively barred from forming through some manner of official or unofficial pressure. This may include threats, arrest, or violence from competing parties or other groups.$

Comments: On Oct. 26, 2006, Dr. Chowdhury, in collaboration with Oli Ahmed, formed a new party named Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) comprised of ex-BNP leaders. ([ LINK ]).

It is difficult to say how many political parties there are in Bangladesh at the moment. In the 2001 national elections, 53 political parties participated with symbols. In July 2005, the chief election commissioner (CEC) invited 117 political parties to have a three-day dialogue about the new voter list, which indicates the easy access of citizen to form a political party in Bnagladesh.

References: Bangladesh Election Commission [ LINK ]

The Herald Tribune, Oct. 26, 2006 [ LINK ]

Transparency Internation Bangladesh, A Diagnostic Study on " Bangladesh Election Commission", p-61, Nov. 6, 2006, www.ti-bangladesh.org

16d: In practice, all citizens can run for political office.

Score:

100

Comments: The Election Commission of Bangladesh makes a non-mandatory provision for registration of political parties. For that, most of the political parties including lead political parties have not been registered with the Election Commission. It is difficult to say how many political parties there are in Bangladesh at the moment. In the 2001 national elections, 53 political parties participated with symbols. In July 2005, the chief election commissioner (CEC) invited 117 political parties to a three-day dialogue about the new voter list, which indicates the easy access of citizen to form political party in Bangladesh. Besides, there are many political party with names, but no activities.

References: Transparency International, Berlin, 2004, , National Integrity Systems Country Study Report, Bangladesh 2003, p-37 www.transparency.org

Transparency International Bangladesh, " A Diagnostic Study on Bangladesh Election Commission", p. 61, Nov. 6, 2006, www.ti-bangladesh.org

Bangladesh Election Commission [ LINK ]

16e: In practice, an opposition party is represented in the legislature.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The opposition party always has some influence on the proceedings of the legislature. The opposition party can introduce legislation or bring pending matters to a vote without the consent of the ruling party. <p>50 Score Criteria: The opposition party has influence on the proceeding of the legislature, but it is limited in scope. The opposition\'s ability to force votes or publicly debate certain topics may be limited. <p>0 Score Criteria: The opposition party has only token participation in the legislature\'s proceedings and cannot advance legislation or force a debate.$

Comments: In the 8th parliament (2001-2006), the chairmen of all standing commitees were from the treasury bench. (source:p-13, [ LINK ]). The prime minister answered 112 main questions, among which 95 percent came from the treasury bench. About 93 percent of the proposals from the opposition party for assessing public opinion on the proposed bills were rejected by viva-vote. The same happened to the bill amendmend proposals by the opposition party. In the 8th parliament, the main opposition party boycotted the House proceedings for 223 out of 373 days.

References: Bangladesh Parliament Legislative and Information Centre, Bangladesh Parliament,[ LINK ]. Business Advisory Committee

Transparency International Bangladesh, A research report entitled " Role of 8th Parliament to institutionalize Democracy", Feb. 12,, 2007, www.ti-bangladesh.org

Transparency International Bangladesh, "Corruption and Parlaimentary Oversight: Primacy of the Political Will", Dec. 9, 2006, [ LINK ]

Transparecy International, 2006, "National Integrity Systems in South Asia", p-4.

Peer Review Comments: The role of the opposition members is well-defined in the 'Rules of Procedure of Parliament', but in most cases opposition members accuse the speaker of the House and the Treasury Bench of not allowing them to speak in the House. In practice, by dint of the majority, the Treasury Bench elects a speaker and deputy speaker who are very much loyal to the party.