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The Effort of the Non-Party Caretaker Government to Make the Ninth Parliamentary Elections 2008 in Bangladesh Free, Fair and Credible

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The Effort of the Non-Party Caretaker Government to Make the Ninth Parliamentary Elections 2008 in Bangladesh Free, Fair and Credible MASTER PROGRAMME IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (ONE YEAR) SIMT95 SPRING SEMESTER, 2009 THE EFFORT OF THE NON-PARTY CARETAKER GOVERNMENT TO MAKE THE NINTH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2008 IN BANGLADESH FREE, FAIR AND CREDIBLE AUTHOR: MD. SAFIQUL ISLAM SUPERVISOR: JAN TEORELL 1 Abstract This study focuses the electoral reforms and the practical performances of the Non-party Caretaker Government in terms of its role to ensure that the ninth parliamentary elections be free, fair and credible. In Bangladesh, after Parliament had been dissolved, the constitutionally-mandated Non-party Caretaker Government was appointed to oversee the parliamentary elections, its main purpose being to assure free, free and credible democratic elections. Thus, the Non-party Caretaker Government (2007-2008) has undertaken an ambitious electoral reforms programme which includes reconstitution of the Bangladesh Election Commission, electoral law reform, voter registration with photographs and political party registration with Election Commission. In this study, I have analysed why the Non-party Caretaker Government has undertaken these electoral measure and how they have been applied in the electoral process. Besides, I have examined their influences on making the elections transparent and credible. It is found that collectively, these electoral measures have facilitated to create a more independent election management body, and provided the basic conditions for genuine elections, such as the right of political parties and candidates to participate, and a level playing field for conducting the campaigns. Moreover, this effort has made the ninth Parliamentary Elections more transparent and credible than previously held elections. Key Words: Non-party Caretaker Government, Bangladesh Election Commission, Electoral Reform, Transparent and Credible Election. 2 Acknowledgements I acknowledge my gratitude to my Supervisor, Dr. Jan Teorell for his support and constructive advices and to Gunilla Olsson for proof reading. 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………. 05 1.1. Aims and Research Questions ………………………………….. 05 2. The Caretaker Government in Bangladesh: a short background….. 06 3. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………… 09 4. Methodology ……………………………………………………… 11 5. The Effort of the Caretaker Government …………………………. 13 5.1. Reconstitution of the Bangladesh Election Commission ……….. 13 5.2. Electoral Law Reform …………………………………………… 15 5.3. Voter Registration ……………………………………………….. 17 5.4. Registration of Political Party …………………………………… 20 6. The Ninth Parliamentary Elections 2008 ………………………….. 22 6.1. Electoral Administration ………………………………………… 22 6.2. Candidate Registration …………………………………………… 22 6.3. Election Campaign ………………………………………………. 25 6.4. Election Day ……………………………………………………… 26 A. Polling …………………………………………………………… 26 B. Counting and Tabulation ………………………………………… 28 C. Collection and Consolidation of Results ………………………… 29 7. Results ………………………………………………………………. 29 8. Appraisal of the Elections 2008 …………………………………….. 31 9. Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………….. 32 10. References ………………………………………………………… 35 Appendix ………………………………………………………………. 40 4 1. Introduction Elections are regarded as the lifeblood of democracy: selecting representatives, determining the composition of parliament, influencing the distribution of power in government and peaceful transfer of power to the popularly-elected government. Today, no country can be regarded as a genuine democracy unless it meets the standards of universal suffrage and competitive, free and fair elections. However, it has a special resonance in emerging democracies of developing countries including Bangladesh, where deliberate electoral manipulation and systematic fraud by recalcitrant authoritarian rulers who are unwilling to give up power, have often blocked, derailed or truncated transitions to democracy. In Bangladesh, in the 1970s and 1980s, almost all regimes’ use of the state machinery – the bureaucracy, law- enforcing agencies and the state-controlled electronic media – for electioneering by the ruling party made elections a travesty. Elections were never entirely free and fair in those periods. Opposition parties contested in the polls on unequal terms. In these circumstances, as a result of the strong and uncompromising prolonged movement by a united opposition, the provisions of a Non-party Caretaker Government (NCG) were incorporated into the constitution. The constitutionally-mandated Caretaker Government in Bangladesh has added a new dimension to the process of democratic consolidation in post-authoritarian polities. Moreover, the NCG (2007-2008) has undertaken some electoral measures such as party registration with the Election Commission, fresh digitalized voters list and voter ID card with photographs and electoral rule reform to make the ninth Parliamentary Elections free, fair and credible. In this the study, the electoral reforms and practical performances of the NCG in terms of its role to ensure that the ninth parliamentary elections be free, fair and credible have been examined. 1.2. Aims and Research Questions Bangladesh has been a pioneer in institutionalizing the idea of a Caretaker government- an apolitical government sworn in to mediate between the political parties, its main purpose being to assure free, fair and credible democratic elections (Momen, 2009:66). However, the NCG (2007-2008) was military supported and assumed in office in a special situation when political tumult posed a serious threat to the future of the democratic system in Bangladesh and there was a higher level of distrust among political actors or political parties. This government has undertaken electoral reforms in securing transparent and credible elections. Therefore, the aim of the study is to explore the electoral reforms in Bangladesh, in particular, the electoral governance of the Caretaker Government. My aim is also to examine 5 these efforts how effective they are in terms of making a level playing field where all contesting parties would enjoy similar electoral rights and privileges and to make elections corruption-free and credible. Based on these aims, the following research questions will be addressed: ____Which measures and reforms of the electoral rules has the Caretaker Government (2007-2008) undertaken and how have these measures been applied in the electoral process? ____What is the performance of the Caretaker Government in term of its role in securing that the ninth Parliamentary Elections be free, fair and credible by applying these electoral measures? 2. The Caretaker Government in Bangladesh: a short background The transition to democracy in Bangladesh after the overthrow of the authoritarian regime in 1990 began with the formation of a non-party caretaker government to prepare the ground for the transfer of power to a popularly mandated government (Zafarullah and Akhter, 2000:345). Bangladesh has undergone a variety of regimes since it became independent in 1971 from Pakistan. The political culture and its offshoot- electoral culture in Bangladesh are deeply embedded in its political legacy inherited from years of non-democratic rule since independence (Zafarullah and Akhter, 2000:347). For almost half of that time, strong personalist or military regimes ruled the country. In those periods, there was, therefore, a gradual public alienation from the election process owing to alleged electoral malpractices. The crisis of the people’s confidence in the stage-managed election system reached its peak during the rule of General Erhsad (BANGLAPEDIA). Elections under the Ershad regime became meaningless without the spontaneous participation of major parties (Ahmed, 2001: 14). Thus, the restoration of democracy through free and fair elections was ultimately transformed into a united anti-Ershad movement by the combined opposition parties with a forceful demand for a neutral caretaker government. The opposition political alliances jointly sponsored a number of successful strikes demanding the resignation of Ershad and the holding of free and fair elections under a neutral caretaker government (Maniruzzaman, 1992:206). This prolonged movement by a united opposition forced the president Ershad to resign and handed over the power to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Shahauddin Ahmed on December 5, 1990 (Maniruzzaman, 1992:208). Justice Ahmed was given a mandate by all opposition parties to hold free and fair elections of the Jatiya Sangsad (Legislature) within three months after his assuming office. 6 However, this Non-party Caretaker Government (NCG) served its purpose fairly well paving the way for a popularly –elected government to assume power after years of non democratic rule. Parliamentary democracy was reinstalled, the foundations of democratic institutions were laid and normal political activities initiated. But a deadlock in the functioning of the parliament originated when the opposition law-makers raised allegations of government-sponsored rigging, intimidation and violence against the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the Magura-2 by-election (ibid). The constituency had traditionally been recognised as a ‘safe’ seat of Awami League (AL) (Mashreque and Rashid 1995 cited in Hakim, 2006: 85). Apparently, the opposition lost faith in the democratically elected government’s ability to ensure fairness in elections. Alleged rigging in the by-election provoked the opposition parties to demand the inclusion of provision of a Non-party Caretaker Government (NCG) in the constitution
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