GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF BANGLADESH

Government:
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized
community, generally a state. It can also describe the leadership of a supranational
organization. Government generally refers to the organizational structure that
makes laws, sets policy, and runs the day-to-day affairs of some political unit,
region, or community. As such, it generally is not used to refer to organizations
that are considered to be privately-owned or privately-run, such as business, a
corporation or company, private organization, or any private entity.

Politics of Bangladesh takes place in a framework a parliamentary representative

democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the head of
government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the
government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.
The Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone
seventeen amendments.

The Government system

The current parliamentary system was adopted in 1991. Between 1975

and 1990 the nation experienced military rule. A caretaker government was first
introduced in 1990 after the resignation of military dictator Lieutenant
General HM Ershad to observe a neutral democratic election, as per demands of
the two major political parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh
Awami League. Following the forced resignation of HM Ershad, Chief
Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was nominated as the Chief Advisor and observed the
1991 general election. A Caretaker government is headed by a Chief Adviser who
enjoys the same power as the regular prime minister of the country except defense
matters. The Advisors function as Ministers.
 After 1991, the Caretaker government has also held the elections of 1996,
2001 and 2008. Although the first caretaker government was intended to help the
transition from authoritarianism to democracy, this system was institutionalized in
1996 by the Sixth Parliament due to rising mistrust between the BNP and Awami
League. In 2011 the then ruling party Awami League abolished the caretaker
government system. This has been the biggest cause of dispute among many others
between the BNP and the Awami League since then.

Local Government

There are 8 divisions and 64 districts in Bangladesh, each district

further subdivided into upazila (lit. subdistricts). The area within each subdistrict,
except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each
union consisting of multiple villages. Direct elections are held for each union (or
ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary
act was passed to reserve three seats (out of 12) in every union for female
candidates.

Political parties

The three major parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Nationalist

Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Awami League and Jatiya Party. BNP finds its allies
among some Islamist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh while the Awami
League aligns itself traditionally with leftist and secularist parties such as Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal. Another important player is the Jatiya Party, headed by former
military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad and his wife Rowshan Ershad. The
Awami League-BNP rivalry has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence
and murder. Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the
liberation movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student wings, and
students have been elected to the Parliament.
Name Founded Ideology Leader
Awami 1949 Capitalism, Social Sheikh Hasina
League Democracy, Secularism

Bangladesh 1978 National Khaleda Zia

Nationalist Conservatism, Economic
Party liberalism, Bangladeshi
nationalism
 Jatiya Party 1986 Nationalism, Islamic GM Quader
Democracy, Economic
Liberalism

Workers
Party of Communism, Marxism-
1980 Rashed Khan Menon
Bangladesh Leninism

Political Issues:

Corruption
Bangladesh has seen political corruption for decades. According to all major
ranking institutions, Bangladesh routinely finds itself among the most corrupt
countries in the world.
Social issues
Social issues in Bangladesh range from liberal inceptions such as women's rights,
religious liberty, religious freedom, modernity, industrialization to religious issues
such as blasphemy laws, sharia legal system, religious conservatism and state
religion. The two main parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami
League, both have contested against each other since the millennium over these
issues.

Nepotism and dynastic politics:

The Bangladeshi politics have been dominated by the bitter rivalry

between two Families, Ziaur Rahmans widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party since 1981 for almost 37 years, against the Bangladesh Awami
League, led since 1981 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's daughter Sheikh Hasina.
Popularly known as the Battling Begums The two women have inherited their
party identifications from their family members and have ruled Bangladesh as
prime ministers since 1991.

Background, Initial resistance and the formation of Provisional Government

 Bangladesh's first government formed on 10 April 1971 and took the oath of
office in Meherpur, Kushtia on 17 April 1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected as the first
President of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh, Syed Nazrul Islam was elected as the
Vice President, and Tajuddin Ahmed was elected as the first Prime Minister. Other major cabinet
members were Mr Kamruzzaman, Mr Monsur Ali and Khodokar Mustaq Ahmed, all senior
Awami League leaders. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by virtue of his position as the President of
Bangladesh became the Supreme Commander of the Liberation Army, while Colonel M.A.G.
Osmani was appointed by the provisional government as the Commander-in- Chief of the
liberation army. Subsequently, the provisional government formed its secretariat and designated
top bureaucrats as chiefs of the divisions of the Secretariat. The Provisional Government later
divided Bangladesh into eleven Sectors for conducting war efficiently and in an organized
manner. This Government became the first legal political entity on behalf of the fighting people
of Bangladesh and represented the people in the international arena. Prime Minister Tajuddin
Ahmed started intergovernmental dialogue with the Indian Government immediately after the
formation of the Provisional Government. Bangladesh achieved victory in the liberation war on
16 December 1971.

First Parliamentary Era

1972-1975: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with U.S. President Gerald Ford in
1974
On 8 January 1972 the leader of the Liberation War and Liberation movement Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman was released from Pakistan Jail and was sent to London. On Mujib's arrival in London,
he was met by the Prime Minister of UK and other world leaders. Sheikh Mujib returned to
Bangladesh on 10 January 1972, by a British Royal Air Force Aircraft. Mujib congratulated the
Bengali Mukti Bahini (the Bangladesh Liberation Force) for succeeding in the war of liberation
against Pakistan army. Mujib was placed at the helm of government, according to the election
victory under the unified Pakistan government. In 1973 after the first Bangladesh elections, he
continued his term in office with immense backing from India, and public popularity, but had
great difficulty transforming this popular support into the political strength needed to function as
head of government. The new constitution, which came into force on 16 December 1972, created
a strong executive prime minister, a largely ceremonial presidency, an independent judiciary, and
a unicameral legislature on a modified Westminster model. The 1972 constitution adopted as
state policy the Awami Leagues (AL) four basic principles of nationalism, secularism, socialism,
and democracy. A key author of the constitution of Bangladesh was Dr Kamal Hossain, who has
since been a major political figure of the country.
Despite promises, no sign of improvement in the economic situation surfaced. Implementation of
promised political reforms was almost nil, and criticism of government policies became
increasingly centered on Mujib. Serious disorientation in the armed services, disenchantment in
society, deteriaration of law and order created a huge mistrust of Mujib and his government
including the Awami League itself. The then chief of army staff K M Shafiullah and chief of air
staff A.K. Khandker stood stunned and idle during this situation. On 15 August 1975, Mujib, and
most of his family, were assassinated by a small group of mid-level army officers. Mujib's
daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, happened to be out of the country. A new
government, headed by former Mujib associate Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, was formed.

Military Era

August–November 1975
Mujib's senior cabinet minister Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad formed a new government and
immediately initiated a few critical changes in Mujib's policies and rules of business in
government. The notorious Jail Killings happened during this period, amidst the confusion in
which Bangladesh was plunged on 3 November. On the same day, Brig General Khaled
Mosharraf launched his own coup fundamentally as a move to restore the chain of command
broken in the army Musharraf moved swiftly to remove Moshtaque Ahmad from office. In 7
November Khaled Musharaf was killed in a counter coup engineered by Colonel Abu Taher.
1975-1981: Ziaur Rahman
Following Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad's removal and assassination of Brigadier General Khaled
Musharaf by a segment of army personnel in 1975, a very short lived revolution resulted in the
emergence of arrested deputy Army Chief of Staff Major General Ziaur Rahman ("Zia"), who
managed to take the lead and bring the whole nation out of a political quagmire. His first action
was to communicate to the people through radio and television and bring order and calm to the
nation. He pledged full support to the civilian government headed by President Chief Justice
Sayem. Acting at Zia's behest, Sayem dissolved Parliament, and instituted state of emergency
under martial law. Zia brought an end to the turbulence within the army. In 1976 Colonel Abu
Taher was tried for treason and executed. Fresh elections were to be in 1977 under a multi party
democracy with full freedom of the press.
1982-1990: Hussain Mohammed Ershad

President HM Ershad in Bangabhaban (1986)

Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Hussain Mohammed Ershad assumed power in the a full-fledged
but bloodless coup on 24 March 1982. He removed the country's democratically elected
president and suspended the constitution and declared martial law. He cited pervasive corruption,
ineffectual government, and economic mismanagement for legitimising his action. The following
year, Ershad assumed the presidency on 11 December 1983, retaining his positions as army chief
and CMLA, first time in Bangladesh. During most of 1984, Ershad sought the opposition parties'
participation in local elections under martial law. The opposition's refusal to participate,
however, forced Ershad to abandon these plans. Ershad was capable of managing the Awami
League through financial and political support. The Awami League's support gave him the
strength and legitimacy to seek public support for his regime in a national referendum on his
leadership in March 1985. He won overwhelmingly, although turnout was small. Two months
later, Ershad held elections for local council chairmen. Pro-government candidates won a
majority of the posts, setting in motion the President's ambitious decentralization program that
Ziaur Rahman had initiated. Political life was finally liberalized in early 1986, and additional
political rights, including the right to hold large public rallies, were restored. Additional support
from Jamaati Islami at the same time gave Ershad's political vehicle for the transition from
martial law some form of legitimacy and the political order of Ershad and his Jatiya Party was
established.

Current Parliamentary Era

1991-1996: Khaleda Zia

The center-right BNP won a plurality of seats in the 1991 Bangladesh General Election and
formed a coalition government with the Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, with Khaleda
Zia, widow of Ziaur Rahman, obtaining the post of Prime Minister. Only four parties had more
than 10 members elected to the 1991 Parliament: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia; the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina; the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), led
by Golam Azam; and the Jatiya Party (JP), led by acting chairman Mizanur Rahman
Chowdhury while its founder, former President Ershad, served out a prison sentence on
corruption charges. The electorate approved still more changes to the constitution, formally re-
creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the office of the prime
minister, as in Bangladesh's original 1972 constitution. In October 1991, members of Parliament
elected a new head of state, President Abdur Rahman Biswas.
1996-2020: Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inspects the ceremonial honour guard during a full honour arrival
ceremony at the Pentagon on 17 October 2000.
Sheikh Hasina formed what she called a "Government of National Consensus" in June 1996,
which included one minister from the Jatiya Party and another from the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal,
a very small leftist party. The Jatiya Party never entered into a formal coalition arrangement, and
party president H.M. Ershad withdrew his support from the government in September 1997.
Only three parties had more than 10 members elected to the 1996 Parliament: The Awami
League, BNP, and Jatiya Party. Jatiya Party president, Ershad, was released from prison on bail
in January 1997.
The Awami League came to power by winning the vast majority of parliament seats in the
election held on 29 December 2008, and Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of
Bangladesh for the second time. Her cabinet took oath on 6 January 2009. HM Ershad was
promised to be made President in exchange for support for Awami League, but despite
supporting Awami League, this promise was not fulfilled and Zillur Rahman became president.
The first two years under this government was peaceful, but a debatable issue took place when
the Awami League government enforced an existing law to reclaim the house where Khaleda Zia
had lived for nearly 40 years for a nominal cost. Khaleda Zia moved to the house of her brother
Sayeed Iskandar at Gulshan. In protest BNP would abstain from parliament. This period also
observed tremendous economic growth.

Conclusion:
The present state of governance in Bangladesh is evaluated here using the concept of
governance, particularly good governance. Bangladesh shows all the symptoms of an
underdeveloped polity. Democracy has not been institutionalized. Politics continues to be
dominated by big money, goons and people with little background and training in formal
politics. Elections have become such an expensive affair that ordinary citizens act only as
passive voters. Power and authority are concentrated at the top echelons of government.
Corruption has become so endemic that it has engulfed the entire society. Both the supreme
leaders of two major political parties, ie the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist
Party, were handed top leadership positions for reasons of heredity and kinship.
This permanent nature of supreme leadership has thwarted internal democracy
in political parties' function and management. The dominant position of the executive is widely
known. The parliamentary system that is in existence can best be termed a prime ministerial
system. The parliament is content to play second fiddle to the executive. Lack of independence
of the judiciary has resulted in its heavy dependence on the executive. Lack of accountability and
transparency in the affairs of the state is a major impediment to effective governance. The human
rights situation remains unsatisfactory. One of the pressing problems of governance is the
politicization of the public bureaucracy, with adverse effects on performance. Expenditure on the
military continues to rise without any apparent justification.