Legal and institutional reforms are essential to ensure accountable governance and protect democracy and human rights, speakers said at a discussion organized by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in Dhaka on Monday to mark International Day of Democracy 2026.
They also called for limiting excessive executive power and ensuring the independence of state institutions responsible for accountability.
They made the remarks at a discussion titled “Democracy, Human Rights and Accountable Governance”, organized by TIB to mark International Day of Democracy 2026.
The discussion was held at the Meghmala Conference Room of TIB’s Dhanmondi office.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said: “Although new possibilities for democracy have emerged through the leadership of young people and the sacrifices of people from all walks of life, our politics, elections and Parliament have essentially become dependent on 5 factors: money, muscle power, religion, patriarchy and majoritarianism.”
“These are major obstacles to establishing democracy, human rights and good governance. We must move away from a one-sided political culture where ‘the winner takes all’ in governing the state,” he said.
He said that although all political parties represented in Parliament, including the ruling party, had committed in their election manifestos to establishing an accountable system of governance, ordinances that further empower the executive branch had been converted into laws.
At the same time, ordinances aimed at making accountability institutions independent and effective had either been repealed or were gradually being converted into laws in ways that, in practice, kept them under government control, he said.
“Therefore, an enabling environment must be ensured to make institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and Information Commission independent and effective in ensuring human rights and accountability,” he said.
“Alongside comprehensively revising the law on preventing enforced disappearances, the Cyber Security Act and the SRB Bill, the ordinances concerning judicial independence enacted during the tenure of the interim government must be reinstated immediately,” Iftekharuzzaman said.
“The law-making process cannot remain hostage to the interests of any individual or group. Ensuring accountability requires ensuring the inclusion of all,” he said.
“To fulfill the aspirations for democracy, human rights and accountable good governance, political parties and the bureaucracy must undergo a process of introspection based on the underlying lessons of the July uprising,” he added.
In his address as the chief guest, Adviser to the Prime Minister Mahdi Amin said: “The source of the present government’s power is the people of this country. Democracy has returned through the people’s mandate and support following the end of prolonged authoritarian rule.”
“Genuine democracy is established through free, fair and credible elections. The BNP government is sincerely working to protect freedom of expression and human rights and has adopted a zero-tolerance policy to stop enforced disappearances and killings with state patronage,” he said.
He said: “The July uprising does not belong to any particular party or group; rather, it belongs to the people as a whole. The people are the true owners of the state and power.”
“The government is working with a long-term plan to build an accountable state system and an equitable country and is prepared to positively consider reasonable criticism and recommendations,” he added.
In his speech as the special guest, Barrister Muhammad Nawshad Zamir, MP, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, said: “Rather than the political identity of those appointed to important positions, the key question should be whether qualified individuals are being selected.”
He said: “Alongside constitutional changes, it is also necessary to change our own thinking and mindset in the interests of the country and its people. Everyone must work together, embracing the slogan ‘Bangladesh First’ to safeguard the national interest.”
Dr Manisha Chakraborty, a member of the Central Committee of the Bangladesh Socialist Party (BASAD), said: “As nearly 60% of the members of the current Parliament are businesspeople, more bills are passed in Parliament to serve business interests than those of the people.”
“Democracy has now become monopolized by business interests — ‘of the businessmen, for the businessmen, by the businessmen’ — rather than the people. It is not possible to protect democratic rights while sustaining a discriminatory system.”
She also said loan defaulters were being protected in the Bangladesh envisioned by the students, workers and people who sacrificed their lives in the July uprising.
Politician and physician Tasnim Jara said: “Elections are not merely a formality held once every 5 years. Justice cannot be established if the oversight institutions responsible for ensuring accountability remain under someone’s control.”
She also said: “Organized disinformation campaigns on social media, including the use of bots to create political bullying and digital violence, are essentially organized crimes. They want to suppress young people in this way.”
“But we must speak up about our rights and remain aware,” she said.
University teachers, students, representatives of the younger generation and other participants at the discussion called for inclusive policies to address the sensitive situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
They also called for ensuring the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and eliminating discrimination in processes such as police verification and the allocation of marks in viva voce examinations for government jobs.
