Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh

17 Pages·2018·0.303 MB·English

by  Ashish Shukla

ISSN 2521-845X
Volume 1I Number II July 2018
Journal of Asian Politics and Society -- JAPS
Editor
Bhuian Md. Monoar Kabir

CAS
Center for Asian Studies

Center for Asian Studies (CAS)
Department of Political Science
University of Chittagong
Table of Contents
Pages
John H. Barnett
Eric Wailes
Alan Arwine
The Effects of Vietnamese Land Laws on Agricultural Reforms 1-39
During the DoiMoi Period, 1986-2002
Md. Nazrul Islam
Democracy Promotion in American Foreign Policy: 40-73
Normative or Instrumental?
Ashish Shukla
Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh 74-88
AKM Khairul Islam
Chinese Aid and Investment in Africa 89-111
Akkas Ahamed
Problems and Prospects of Asian Century in 2050 112-123
Sunayana Sharma
Nuclear Security in South Asia 124-142
Hasina Afruj Shanta
Globalization and Its Economic Impact on the Developing 143-164
Countries: The Case of Bangladesh
Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh
Ashish Shukla*
The term of the unicameral legislature of Bangladesh, Jatiya
Sangsad (JS), will expire on January 28, 2019. It consists of a
total 350 members out of which 300 are elected directly from
single territorial constituency with first past the post system,
whereas the rest 50 seats, reserved for women, are filled
indirectly. Barring a two year state emergency in 2007-08,
general elections in Bangladesh have regularly been conducted
since 1991. As per the constitution, under normal circumstances,
general elections must be held within the 90-day period before the
Jatiya Sangsad’s
expiration of term. Thus, the next general
election is supposed tobe held anytime between October 31, 2018
and January 28, 2019.The country has been witnessing a growing
political tussle between Sheikh Hasina-led ruling Awami League
and Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The
BNP has expressed strong reservations over the present Awami
League dispensation at the helm and repeatedly made it clear that
under the present set-up a credible, free and fair election could not
be held.
The incumbent government has so far maintained that it would do
everything to facilitate the election process under the prescribed
constitutional limits and laws of the land. The stand taken by the
two important political forces and their uncompromising
approach towards each other has created an environment of
political unease at home. Some well-versed political observers

*Dr. Asish Sukla is a Research Fellow at the Indian Council on World Affairs (ICWA), New
Delhi.
Journal of Asian Politics and Society--JAPS Vol. 11 No. II July 2018 75
and analysts are of the view that the ongoing crisis, if continues
for a long time, may turn violent.
The Awami League-BNP Tussle
At the core of this ongoing political unease and tussle between the
two opposing political forces is certain poll-related demands put
forward by the BNP leadership as a precondition to join the
upcoming general elections.1 One such demand is the installation
of a neutral and election-time government which stays away from
taking any important decision and does not play a partisan role in
the election process. There has been no change in the BNP‟s
stance ever since the party brought this issue to the fore. The
party has maintained that there will be no credible election in the
country without BNP‟s participation. It has also been threaten
ing
to launch a political movement against the government, if its
demands are not met in time. Bangladesh would need to amend
the constitution one more time, if BNP‟s demand of a neutral
caretaker government is to be met. The ruling dispensation, on the
her hand, seems to have decided not to pay any heed to BNP‟s
ot
demands. The Awami League does not want to be seen as bowing
to its political foe, having no representation in the Jatiya Sangsad,
before the upcoming general elections. Awami League leadership
has been arguing that they are ready to do everything to facilitate
a free, fair and inclusive election within the prescribed
constitutional limits and laws of the land. To understand the
ongoing tussle over the formation of a politically neutral caretaker
government before the election, one needs to delve into history.
76 Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh

The Non-Political Caretaker Government (NCG) System
The history of constitutional amendments in Bangladesh has not
been free from controversies. There have been three constitutional
amendments, having consequences for non-political caretaker
—
government provision, that courted controversies namely the
13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. It is interesting to note that both
Awami League and BNP have supported and opposed the
installation of a Non-Political Caretaker Government (NCG) as
per their political calculations. When in power, both the parties
vehemently opposed the idea of NCG, while in opposition they
forcefully argued in favour of this system. The demand to
institute a NCG to conduct elections was first raised during the
authoritarian rule of President Ershad. In November 1990, a joint
opposition consisting of Awami League, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami
(JI) and other likeminded political parties launched a powerful
movement against the Ershad presidency. The joint declaration
talked about boycotting and resisting any elections under the
authoritarian regime. It also categorically stated that the parties
would participate in the election only under a politically neutral
and non-partisan caretaker government. Under intense domestic
and international pressure, President Ershad caved in and handed
—
over power to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice
—
Shahabuddin Ahmed who presided over a caretaker government
and conducted free and fair elections.
The 1991 election brought BNP at the helm of affairs in
Bangladesh. However, soon other political parties including
Awami League started questioning the way government
functioned. The opposition accused BNP of vote rigging in
Magura parliamentary by-election in March 1994, which in the
end resulted in a severe political crisis. Awami League called for
Journal of Asian Politics and Society--JAPS Vol. 11 No. II July 2018 77
countrywide strikes and demanded fresh elections. Sheikh Hasina,
then opposition leader, announced that “We will have to think
whether we should sit in Parliament with the vote dacoits of the
BNP.”2 The crisis and political deadlock continued for another
two years during which Awami League demanded to appoint a
NCG to conduct next general elections. When boycott of
parliament and a series of nationwide strikes did not yield the
desired result, 147 opposition members of the Jatiya Sangsad
resigned on December 28, 1994.3 Akhtar Hossain suggests that
being a dominant and political monopolist party, Awami League
could not digest BNP‟s rise as a mass
-based political parity. Thus,
resorted to continued street agitation and violence on trivial issues
that could have been resolved through courts or election
commission.4 This was later replicated by BNP when Awami
League came to power.
Institutionalizing the NCG
Throughout the political crisis, ruling BNP termed the demand of
NCG undemocratic as well as unconstitutional and finally in
November 1995 dissolved Jatiya Sangsad and called for fresh
elections. None of the major opposition political parties
participated in the fraudulent and heavily rigged February 1996
elections5 in which BNP won 289 out of the 300 seats. However,
it could no longer hold on to power as the combined opposition
led by Sheikh Hasina launched an indefinite non-cooperation
movement on March 9, 1996. Khalda Zia helplessly saw power
slipping from her hand. Observes noted that the movement
crippled Prime Minister‟s authority to the extent that Khaleda
Zia‟s writ could not run beyond her house in Dhaka cantonment
and Prime Minister‟s secretariat at Tejgaon.6 Having lost all the
moral grounds to opposition, Khaleda Zia government introduced
78 Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh

13th amendment to the constitution making the installation of
NCG under the recently retired Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court mandatory to preside over the general elections. The
opposition Awami League rejected both the February election and
the 13th amendment to the constitution that made NCG a
permanent feature of the constitution. The Awami League not
only considered the sixth parliament illegal, but also pledged to
undo its major decisions if voted to power.7
Under the newly constituted NCG, fresh elections were held in
June 1996 following which Awami League came to power albeit
with a small majority. Awami League won 146 seats, whereas
BNP came second with 116 seats followed by Jatiya Party that
got 32 seats.8 There were remarkable improvements in the
political situation at home, especially in the first one and a half
years. On December 2, 1997 the government signed The
Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (CHT Peace Accord) which
ended the long-standing armed conflict in the region.9 The BNP
vehemently opposed the accord and launched a nation-wide
movement arguing that it undermined the sovereignty of the
country and violated various constitutional provisions.10 This
brought the two political arch-rivals in a confrontational mode
which continued till the next general election held under the NCG
in October 2001. The election results turned the table, as the BNP
secured a stunning victory by winning 193 seats. Awami League
came a distant second with 62 seats, followed by Jamaat-e-Islami
(JI) that won 17 seats and Jatiya Party which got 14 seats. Awami
League alleged large scale vote-rigging and demanded fresh
elections. Sheikh Hasina also threatened to resort to mass-protest
and boycott of the parliament. International observers, the head of
Journal of Asian Politics and Society--JAPS Vol. 11 No. II July 2018 79
the NCG and election commission rejected these allegations and
declared the general elections to be largely free and fair.11
Political temperature remained high, as Sheikh Hasina threatened
to launch a non-cooperation campaign if the election results were
not cancelled by October 10, 2001.12 Political temperature
remained very high since then. She along with other members of
parliament from her party even did not come in parliament for 77
sitting days in a row.13 It was for the first time in the history of
Bangladesh that the opening session of Jatiya Sangsad
commenced without the opposition in attendance.14 Awami
League ended its boycott of Jatiya Sangsad in 2002 for a brief
period and then again walked out in June 2003 in protest over
derogatory remarks against Sheikh Hasina by a Minister and
partisan role of the parliamentary speaker.15
Unlike Awami League (1996-2001), Khaleda Zia-led BNP
together with allies had a two third majority in the Jatiya
Sangsad. This brute majority gave BNP government authority to
initiate and pass a constitutional amendment without relying on
opposition. The controversy over the NCG again raised its head
when BNP in 2004 introduced 14th amendment in the constitution
that inter alia increased the retirement age of the Supreme Court
Judges by two years. It is important to note that the amendment
was passed in parliament without any attempt to evolve a national
consensus. This happened at a time when main opposition party
Awami League was not attending the parliament. The opposition
parties accused Khaleda Zia of taking a “calculative move” to
ensure its favourite Chief Justice K. M. Hasan head the next
NCG. The united opposition unanimously rejected the
t at a meeting held at Awami League‟s Dhanmondi
amendmen
office where Sheikh Hasina stated that “The 14th amendment at is
80 Understanding the Growing Political Tussle in Bangladesh

contrary to the original spirit of the constitution. We are rejecting
the amendment since there is no requirement for it.”16
The opposition parties led by Awami League objected to the
possible appointment of Justice K.M. Hassan as the head of NCG.
Amid the ongoing deadlock and controversy over the NCG,
Justice K.M. Hassan himself refused to head the caretaker
government. However, that did not end the deadlock. The issue
became a bone of contention between the government and the
opposition leading to violent protests in the streets. In October
2006, after the end of the tenure of the government, the
parliament was dissolved and NCG took over the responsibility of
conducting the general elections. The opposition parties accused
BNP of installing its supporters into NCG and the election
commission. This was followed by widespread agitation, violence
and calls of shutdowns. When nothing seemed to be working,
President Iajuddin Ahmed declared himself the Chief Advisor of
the NCG which infuriated opposition parties to the extent that
they forced the President to resign from the position of Chief
Advisor on January 11, 2007 after which President Iajuddin
declared a state of emergency in the country.17 Theincumbent NCG
was replaced by a new NCG comprising mainly of private sector
individuals that finally held elections in December 2008 following
which Awami League came to power with a thumping majority.
Dropping the NCG through 15th Constitutional Amendment
The 2008 elections were significant in many ways; the total
turnout was over 86%; women out performed men when it came
to vote for a new government18and most importantly it gave
Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League a super-majority in the Jatiya
Sangsad. The party had secured 230 out of a total 300
Journal of Asian Politics and Society--JAPS Vol. 11 No. II July 2018 81
parliamentary seats. In an important development, the appellate
division of the Supreme Court on May 10, 2011 declared the 13th
amendment unconstitutional on the ground that it mandated an
elected government to transfer power to an unelected NCG to
oversee a new parliamentary election.19 However, the court also
categorically stated that the voided system may be practiced for
f “safety or the
another two parliamentary terms for the sake o
state and its people.”20
Instead of following the suggestion of the apex court, Awami
League decided to use its unprecedented strength in the
parliament to do away with the NCG system. Thus, on June 30,
2011 Sheikh Hasina government passed the 15th constitutional
amendment which scrapped the provision of instituting NCG to
oversee parliamentary elections in the country. The BNP-led
opposition boycotted and protested against the annulment of the
caretaker system21 but it failed to impress the government. It gave
Awami League government an ultimatum to reinstate the NCG by
June 10, 2012 or face strong street protests. It organised a rally of
over 100,000 supporters in Dhaka to pressurise the government
and called for a nationwide political agitation after the deadline.22
The BNP led opposition repeatedly threatened to boycott the
electoral process if the government did not repeal the 15th
constitutional amendment and restore the NCG. Sheikh Hasina
led ruling dispensation did not accept the demands and argued
that the highest court of the land declared NCG illegal and there
was no scope to retain the system. In December 2013, BNP-led
alliance declared that they would not participate in the general
elections scheduled in January 2014. Shamsher Mobin
Chowdhury, then vice president of the BNP, stated that “There is
no question of us filing nominations for the January 5 election