Current Affairs
Lacking Substance
Photo: BSS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been claiming for a long time that the next general election will be held as per the parliamentary democratic system in other countries. In line with her claim, she has recently announced that the parliamentary polls will be held without dissolving the current cabinet and the Jatiya Sangsad.
Her latest announcement has caused a huge uproar. The voice against her announcement is getting louder: a free, fair and credible election is not possible without dissolving the current parliament. Election Commissioner Abu Hafiz on Sunday also echoed the same views. In his view it will be pretty difficult for the Election Commission to conduct a free and fair election if the parliament exists during the election.
The prime minister however remains rigid on her stance. She is determined to stand by the current constitutional provision which is immensely favouring her party--the ruling Awami League. Her government reintroduced the provision for holding the parliamentary polls within 90 days before expiry of the present parliament's tenure.
To consolidate her stance on the polls, she has been making the claim that "the next general election would be held as per the parliamentary democratic system in other countries."
Her claim deserves a through scrutiny. Let's see how elections are held in the parliamentary democratic system in other countries like the UK, India, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The Mother of Parliaments
The British Parliament is considered as the mother of parliaments as it is the model for many other parliaments in the world. It has been evolved for more than 800 years to become a model of democratic parliamentary system of government. It is popularly known as the Westminster system of governance as the palace of Westminster is the seat of the parliament of the UK.
Before every general election the House of Commons is dissolved. Every seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant. MPs lose all the privileges associated with being members of parliament. They become common people when they seek re-lection. Even their access to the parliament building is strictly controlled. They are allowed to access the parliament building for just a few days to remove papers and equipment from their offices. All facilities and services for MPs at Westminster are closed at 5:00pm on the day of dissolution of the parliament. This means, until a new parliament is elected, MPs do not exist.
The government however does not resign when the parliament is dissolved. Essential businesses must carry on and the government ministers remain in charge of their ministries until their successors assume the charges through the general election. During the period between dissolution of the parliament and the polling day, the government suspends any advertising campaigns and refrains from major policy decisions or announcements.
World's Largest Democracy
Sheikh Hasina, Photo: BSS
India is considered as the world largest democratic country. Elections to Indian parliament, known as Lok Sabha, are held only after the dissolution of the House. The parliament is dissolved after the competition of its five year tenure. It may be dissolved earlier calling for a general election if the government can no longer command the confidence of the Lok Sabha and if there is no alternative parties available to form the government by commanding confidence of the House.
After the dissolution of the parliament, the Election Commission gears up its activities for holding the general election. The constitution states that there can be no longer than 6 months between the last session of the dissolved Lok Sabha and the recalling of the new House, so elections have to be concluded before then.
During the election, the outgoing parliament acts as an interim government and carries routine works until the new government is formed through the general election.
Practices in some other countries
Elections to Parliaments in Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also held only after dissolution of the House. And the outgoing cabinets in those countries act as the caretaker governments to carry out routine works. They do not make any major decision which may influence the elections and damage the level playing field in the polls.
What Sheikh Hasina Says
So, it is crystal clear that the elections to parliaments in other democratic countries are held only after the dissolution of the House. The strategy that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken does not conform to the practices in other democratic countries.
In Bangladesh, parliamentary practices in the UK and India are often referred to. But Premier Hasina might have overlooked the ground reality which is opposite to her claim. Moreover, the political culture in those countries is also different from the one that exists in Bangladesh. Excepting India, the countries have a high standard of political culture. MPs belonging to those parliaments do not dodge their duties; they may not know about the phrase of parliament boycott, let alone boycotting the House proceedings to realise their narrow partisan demands. They believe in the spirit of parliamentary democracy in which the parliament is the focal point of all activities.
Political parties in those countries do not take to the streets to realise their demands by boycotting the parliaments, something major political parties in Bangladesh have been doing for a long time. In those countries, the ruling parties do not resort to all means to abuse and influence the government administration to win the general elections. Voters in those countries are really considered and honoured as VIPs and they are free to determine the fate of the political parties by casting their ballots. Countries where there is such a high standard of political culture, even they do not speak for holding the parliamentary elections without dissolving the House.
Bangladesh PM should go through the practices in those democratic countries to know how the general elections in those countries are held without dissolving the parliament. Otherwise, her remarks will go on misleading people.
The writer is Senior Reporter, The Daily Star.
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