Every time an election has been held under a partisan government since Bangladesh’s independence, the ruling party has triumphed.
So far, a total of five national polls have been held under partisan governments: 1973, 1979, 1986, 1988 and 1996.
Among them, the 1988 and the 1996 elections are said to be the most controversial because the major opposition parties boycotted them.
Although there were complaints of irregularities in the 1973 and 1979 polls, they were deemed more or less acceptable.
The 1979 and 1986 polls had another dimension to them both the polls were held under military governments. By the time the polls were held, the military dictators had formed their own political parties to give their powers a democratic outlook.
Since parliamentary democracy in the country began taking a formal shape following the 1991 elections with the participation of a strong opposition force, the elections held under the BNP administration on February 15, 1996, is the only instance of polls held under a partisan government. The Awami League, then the opposition party, did not take part in that polls.
However, as of 2013, chances have surfaced that polls may be held under a partisan government with the participation of a strong opposition for the first time in the country’s history.
Then again, uncertainty still looms over the fate of the upcoming elections, which the opposition BNP say hangs entirely on the shape of the polls-time government. The BNP has never quite welcomed the Supreme Court verdict that abolished the system of a non-partisan caretaker government in 2011.
The ruling Awami League looks somewhat adamant about not reinstating the caretaker system, although the caretaker oversaw three relatively credible national polls in the last decade and a half.
Former election commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain said: “Comparing the context of the previous elections with that of today would not be very wise. We began our journey on the path of parliamentary democracy in 1991. But after the Magura by-polls [held in 1994], the demand for a caretaker system surfaced, mainly because of the failure of the election commission.”
The 1994 Magura by-polls, held under the BNP, faced massive allegations of rigging in favour of the ruling party runner. The Awami League, then in opposition, waged a movement that eventually led to the introduction of the non-party caretaker government system.
“If a government wants to hold elections staying in power, questions of muscle flexing or influencing the polls will never be out of the question. But, if the election commission is powerful, that problem can be overcome,” Shakhawat said.
In the first ever parliamentary polls held in the country on March 7, 1973, the Awami League bagged 293 seats out of 300. 14 political parties participated in that election, although there was not a strong individual opposition party at that time.
On February 18, 1979, elections were held under Ziaur Rahman’s military administration. In that election, the BNP bagged 207 out of 300 seats. There was no strong opposition in that election either.
On May 7, 1986, military ruler HM Ershad staged elections in which his newly formed Jatiya Party (JP) won 153 seats. The Awami League took part in that election while BNP stayed away.
On March 3, 1988, Ershad’s JP won an even bigger majority in the parliament, bagging 251 seats. Neither the Awami League nor the BNP contested that poll.
In the sixth parliamentary polls, held on February 15, 1996, BNP bagged 278 seats.
“In the recent times, political division has widened and lack of trust among parties has increased. I do not think that a free election is possible if the parliament is kept intact. But, holding credible elections under an interim government is very much possible if parliament is dissolved, election commission is made powerful, and there is a change in the political culture,” Shakhawat said.
Veteran politician Suranjit Sengupta said: “Yes. It is a fact that the ruling parties have always won the elections held under their regimes. But one should not compare the 1973 election with the 1979, ‘86 and ‘88 elections because they [the last three elections] were held under military rules.”
BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan said: “Essentially, the issue here is whether the incumbent government wants the people to re-elect them, irrespective of its performance. In other words, the government tries to influence the outcomes of the elections in its favour. And that might have been reflected in all the general elections prior to 1991.
“In contrast, we note that under the caretaker system, people have generally voted against the incumbent government. This strengthens the view that people have a freer and more neutral option to exercise under a caretaker government which is now become the norm in Bangladesh,” Moyeen Khan said.
Noted columnist Abul Maksud said the constitutional amendment, that abolished the caretaker system, would not bring any good to the nation. “The government is trying to impose the decision [to hold polls under partisan government] on the people. Even if it is correct, it [imposing the decision] is totally undemocratic.”
