The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Over the past 10 years, NDI has conducted a series of parliamentary, civil society, and political party programs in Bangladesh, and has been active in providing technical support and monitoring for the country's elections. Since October 2003, the Institute has worked to expand democratic processes within the four major political parties by encouraging multi-party dialogue, strengthening the role of parliament, increasing constituency outreach, and enhancing the legitimacy of the electoral process. In addition, NDI works closely with Bangladeshi nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on strategic planning and program development, and has provided technical assistance in promoting citizen participation in the democratic process.

Political Situation

Presidential elections, originally scheduled for Jan. 22, 2007, were postponed indefinitely after the military intervened to quell rising violence and suspend electoral preparations that were widely discredited and deemed biased toward the ruling party. The military-backed civilian caretaker government launched an ambitious program to reform the political parties, reduce corruption and return Bangladesh to democratic rule. After nearly two years and a mixed record on reform, the government fulfilled its pledge to hold new elections. On Dec. 29, 2008, Bangladeshis went to the polls to elect a new parliament for the first time in seven years. The Awami League-led (AL) Grand Alliance — which includes 12 smaller parties — won an overwhelming majority of seats in the new parliament, and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001) regained her post.

Results indicate that both the major parties, the AL and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), retain significant support. The AL received 49 percent of the vote while the BNP saw its share fall to less than 33 percent. However — given Bangladesh's single-member constituencies, "winner takes all" system — the number of parliamentary seats won by each party differs greatly from what the popular vote would suggest. The AL's Grand Alliance won a decisive majority of 262 out of 299 seats, whereas the BNP's four-party alliance won 33 seats.

Broad parliamentary majorities in the past have led to the exclusion of opposition parties in decision-making and to frequent parliamentary boycotts. In the last parliament, chronic absenteeism among both opposition and ruling party members of parliament (MPs) led to the frequent postponement of parliamentary sessions due to a lack of quorum. Since the start of the current parliament in January 2009, the BNP has resorted to an eight-month parliamentary boycott and several brief walk-outs in response to unfulfilled demands, including a solution to the dispute over seating in the parliament, an end to an alleged negative state-run media campaign against party leader Khaleda Zia, withdrawal of allegedly politically motivated cases against Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman, and an overturn of the government's cancellation of Khaleda's cantonment residence lease. However, the party has staged six walk-outs during the five days they joined parliament to protest the renaming of Zia International Airport.

In accordance with the Electoral Commission's (EC) requirements for political party registration, thirty-eight political parties submitted their fully-ratified constitutions to the EC before the Jan. 24 deadline. The ruling AL elected Sheik Hasina as party president and empowered her to revise the party constitution as well as select central decision-making committee members with the AL general secretary.

The BNP held its first national council meeting in 16 years Dec. 8 - 10, 2009, electing Khaleda Zia as party chief and empowering her to select members of the national standing and executive committees, dissolve both committees, discipline party members, and control all party activities. Meanwhile, Rahman was elected as the BNP's senior vice-chair and will assist the party chief and serve as acting chairperson in Khaleda Zia's absence, paving the way to leadership of the party if he so desires.

On Nov. 19, the Supreme Court convicted 12 individuals to death for the Aug. 15, 1975 murder of the country's first prime minister and president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The case was originally filed 34 years ago by Mujibur's personal assistant who had survived an assault by members of the military on the prime minister's family and colleagues at his home. Only Mujibur's daughters, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Rehana survived as they were abroad at the time of the attempted coup.

Current Programs

With a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Institute established mechanisms to promote the effective engagement of opposition parties in the parliamentary process through comparative methods, techniques and systems. NDI hosted roundtable meetings from July 2009 through February 2010 with civil society leaders, the AL and the BNP to discuss challenges and interventions to improve cross-party cooperation in a divided parliament. Three advisory groups were formed to generate guidelines on parliamentary committee strengthening; the guidelines were discussed with senior MPs and will be presented in parliament. In addition, NDI convened the members and staff of the Parliamentary Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to conduct a simulated committee hearing — incorporating rules of committee procedures — and to share international best practices on strengthening parliament by improving opposition-government relations. In addition, the Institute held three workshops for members and staff of the Parliamentary Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and opposition MPs with two international expert facilitators. The program disseminated international best practices and ideas on strengthening parliament by improving opposition-government relations.

Meanwhile, with a separate NED grant, NDI is building the capacity of women civic and political leaders in policymaking. The Institute is working with a select group of women MPs to facilitate the creation of an all-parties women's parliamentary caucus to help ensure that women's concerns are represented in policy development. Also, the Institute will build upon the achievements of the NDI-supported Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leaders (BDAWL), strengthening its organizational capacity to become an effective national women's network.

• "Who's Who" of women leaders in Bangladesh an inspiration for all women»
• "From Kitchen to Parliament" — Women in Bangladesh look toward the future»

Past Programs

NDI has worked in Bangladesh since 1988 and maintained an office in Dhaka since 1995. Over the past ten years, NDI has conducted a series of parliamentary, civil society and political party programs in Bangladesh, and has been active in providing technical support and monitoring the country's elections. From October 2003 to September 2009, the Institute worked to strengthen democratic processes within the four major political parties by encouraging multi-party dialogue, strengthening the role of parliament, increasing women's political participation, and enhancing the legitimacy of the electoral process with USAID funding.

International Election Monitoring

NDI deployed international observers to monitor the 2008 parliamentary elections. In November 2008, NDI deployed 20 long-term observers from 14 countries across Bangladesh to report on political developments and election preparations. In December, NDI deployed 60 accredited observers for the short-term delegation to monitor election-day processes. The delegation deemed the elections well administered and conducted in an orderly fashion.

• Final report on the Bangladesh 2008/2009 elections»
• NDI delegation finds Bangladesh parliamentary elections well administered and peaceful»
• Final statement of the NDI election observer delegation to the parliamentary elections»
• NDI election observer discusses "A People Hungry for Democracy"»
• NDI pre-election delegation statement»

The NDI field office monitored post-election developments, including the 2009 upazila parishad polls, and is working with members of the Ninth Parliament to consolidate the return to elected government.

Parliamentary Support

NDI hosted a parliamentary orientation program Feb. 22-25, 2009, providing a forum for senior MPs, experts and international guests to share experiences and best practices regarding parliamentary processes. Three days of panel sessions covered topics ranging from the role of parliament in a democratic system to the individual responsibilities of MPs, including panels on committee structure, ethics and lawmaking which were well attended by new and senior members. The new women MPs received a similar orientation in May 2009.

Political Party Strengthening

NDI held a series of dialogues with political parties over the past year in a multi-party setting facilitated by international electoral reform and constitutional law experts. These dialogues culminated in a series of three issue conferences held in advance of the parliamentary elections, at which political party leaders, former MPs and civil society experts used the private, multi-party setting to discuss issues such as food security, parliamentary reform and women's political participation.

With assistance from USAID, NDI has engaged Bangladeshi political parties, parliament and NGOs to increase cooperation between political parties and improve parliamentary functions in the legislative process. To this end, NDI held a three-day orientation for the 64 newly-elected women parliamentarians June 6–8. The agenda included an overview of parliamentary structures, functions and procedures; MP responsibilities; women's advocacy; caucus development and gender budgeting. The program, organized with the Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership, featured international presenters US Ambassador James Moriarty, USAID Mission Director Denise Rollins and Dr. Lesley Clark of the Queensland Parliament (Australia). In response to USAID's request, NDI hosted a program to orient 120 newly-elected vice-chairwomen of upazila parishads in July and August. The orientations promoted understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the upazila parishad vice-chairwomen as well as addressed constituency outreach, coordination with other levels of government and public speaking. Lastly, NDI hosted a political party training on party finance and internal party organization and management to enhance compliance with the EC's intra-party reform requirements in August with former British MP Michael Meadowcroft.

Funding

NDI's programs in Bangladesh have been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID), the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Contact Information

For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:

Dhaka
Jacqueline Corcoran, Senior Resident Director
+880 2 988 3998

Washington, D.C.
Brian Vogt, Program Manager
(202) 728-5442

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