A study that was conducted during April-May last year, shows that around 60% Bangladeshis were satisfied with the way the political system was working in the country, while 39% said they were unhappy.
However, more than three-fourth of the people who were interviewed said they believed that the wealthy had too much influence on politics, while the poor had too little influence.
The findings were made by Washington DC-based Pew Research Center, which did face-to-face interviews of 1,000 adults in different area of Bangladesh from April 14 to May 11 last year. The results were published on its website last week.
Among those surveyed, 47% said they were “somewhat satisfied,” 13% said they were “very satisfied” about the political system; among the rest, 28% were “somewhat dissatisfied,” 11% were “very dissatisfied,” and the remaining 1% refused to give any political views.
More than 78% opined that those with high incomes had “too much” political influence, 11% said the high-earning people had “not enough” power, 9% said the rich had the “right amount” of influence, and 2% refused to comment.
In contrast, most thought middle- and lower-income people had too little influence on politics.
Over 55% said middle-income people did not have enough power, while 63% observed the view about people with lower incomes.
The rest of the world
Apart from Bangladesh, Pew Research Centre – the American think tank that provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends – carried out the survey in 30 emerging and developing nations and found that people in these countries were on balance unhappy with the way their political systems were working.
Discontent is particularly widespread in the Middle East and Latin America, where about six-in-ten said their system is not working well.
The opposite is true, however, in Asia – a median of 60% are either very or somewhat satisfied with their political system. With about two-thirds (66%) reporting satisfaction, Malaysians are the most positive, while Indians (63%) and Filipinos (61%) also hold similar views.
Only in Thailand, which in the past year has been ravaged by political turmoil including a coup, did an overwhelming majority (70%) said they were dissatisfied.
Middle Easterners (a median of 61%) and Latin Americans (59%) voiced the greatest displeasure with the way their political systems were working. In Lebanon, this frustration is particularly high – 90% say they are dissatisfied with the way the system works, a view shared by about seven-in-ten Palestinians and Tunisians.
In Latin America, discontent is especially strong in Colombia (75%) and Brazil (71%). Within the region, satisfaction with the political system is most common in Nicaragua and El Salvador, the two Central American countries surveyed.
In sub-Saharan Africa, people are split nearly equally on this question – a median of 50% are dissatisfied and 49% are satisfied.
Dissatisfaction is highest in the West African nations of Ghana (65%) and Nigeria (60%). Tanzanians and Ugandans are among the happiest with their political system – more than six-in-ten in both countries believe it is working well.
