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Experts have alleged that there is a correlation between the increase in income of many and their participation in the national election as it is like getting access to state resources for them.
“A few of them are increasing their wealth by disenfranchising the state. If there is no democratic pluralism, then civil society must raise its voice, to bring transparency, accountability, and socio-economic stability,” said Centre for Policy Dialogue’s (CPD) Distinguished Fellow and Citizen Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh Convener Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya.
He made the remarks during a media briefing, titled ‘Citizen Agenda for Inclusive Development and Equity’, at the BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka on Saturday. Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, chaired the briefing.
The agenda of the briefing was about the effective implementation of laws and judicial processes for eradicating gender-based violence and discrimination, giving voice to the silent and establishing democratic accountability, and access and justice for ethnic and religious minorities, which are some key factors of sustainable development goals.
MB Akhter, development professional and gender analyst, Farhan Hossain Joy, research associate of Nagorik Uddyog, and Dr Asif Mohammad Shahan, associate professor of development studies at Dhaka University, presented the keynote about the agenda.
Debapriya said, “We have been sending this policy brief to all the major political parties, their committees, and senior leaders for the past month, but no political parties reviewed these, resulting in a democratic vacuum. As a result, people are losing interest in elections.
“When the election manifesto comes, it comes as a political promise made by a party, as a social contract to the citizens. We thought two years ago that the 12th national polls would not be like 2014 or 2018. It’ll be a new beginning.”
He said, “Awami League’s election manifesto states that private development agencies will have a very regulatory attitude. It has been said that accountability should be increased, control should be increased, and transparency should be maintained. But nothing has been said about how cooperative their role will be in the next phase of development.”
Regarding the candidates’ affidavits, Debapriya said, “The affidavit is the most significant achievement of the civil society movement. In 2007, we gave shape to this by making specific recommendations through the amendment of the RPO. You must consider the affidavits of those appearing before you today as ordinary citizens because the role of ordinary people increases when traditional democracy weakens.”
“We want Bangladesh to develop inclusively, embody the dream of independence, exit LDCs, implement SDGs, and above all, become a Smart Bangladesh. With a new design where national unity will be built, based on which we will go to work, discuss with every political party, try to convince their young leaders and continue it in the style of parliamentary democracy,” he added.
Regarding the participation of the youth, he said, “Elections may come and go, but we have to solve the problems of our country. A culture of fear has been created. It is a misconception that if we remain silent, we will be safe.”
Iftekharuzzaman said, “This policy brief is not just for political parties, it’s a whole-of-society approach. Around 72.09 per cent of the candidates have assets valued at more than Tk 1 crore and some of their assets growth is increasing consistently up to 2,000 per cent.”
“The Election Commission is behaving like a silent spectator. If the commission had exercised its powers properly, it would have cancelled the candidacy for hiding the real information and sought accountability. The Anti-Corruption Commission could have taken action in this regard as well, and the National Board of Revenue should have checked whether the candidates are paying tax according to the increased assets,” he added.
He further said that the election would take place and the party in command would remain in control. Though the stakeholders will be unhappy, after a while everything will be back to normal and the inclusive development and equity journey will be a longer one.
CPD Distinguished Fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers’ Association President Advocate Salma Ali, Zakir Hossain, chief executive of Nagorik Uddyog, Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, country representative of The Asia Foundation, Bangladesh, and Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, were also present at the briefing.
