Bangladesh opposes civil society participation in parliamentary processes at CPC

Bangladesh opposed the recommendation of Commonwealth countries on civil society participation in the self-assessment process of parliament. During a workshop of Commonwealth Parliament Association (CPA) at the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), Bangladesh opposed the inclusion of civil society in the parliamentary process. The workshop titled “CPA Benchmark for Democratic Legislatures: Progress in the past 10 years” came up with four recommendations and those were placed for voting after discussion. Except for Bangladesh, other Commonwealth countries voted for the recommendation to be placed at the General Assembly of CPA. The recommendations were accepted by a majority of votes. The recommendation which was opposed by Bangladesh reads: “Where relevant, citizens, civil society and academia should be consulted when parliaments conduct self-assessments with the CPA Benchmarks to promote transparency and accountability.” Before voting on the recommendation, Bangladesh delegation's Chief Deputy Speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah clarified that Bangladesh would oppose if the recommendation includes the participation of civil society in parliament.