Bangladesh's transition to democracy has been hindered by corruption, a polarized political environment, and the recent postponement of elections scheduled for January 22, 2007. The political environment has dramatically worsened as tensions between the main political parties-the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-have resulted in regular parliamentary boycotts, violent street demonstrations and hartals (general strikes), and the public's general distrust of the political process.
In 2000, BNP formed a successful four-party coalition with the Jatiya Party (Nazur), Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote to win the 2001 parliamentary elections and led the government until the end of its term in October 2006. During the BNP-led government, the AL repeatedly charged the BNP with election misconduct, a worsening law and order situation, and corruption, prompting calls for programs of national resistance.
In August 2005, nearly 500 bombs exploded across the country simultaneously, killing two individuals and wounding dozens. An outlawed Islamist organization known as Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was implicated in the attacks raising concerns that growing religious fundamentalism could exacerbate the already acrimonious and occasionally violent relationship between the government and opposition parties.
In the lead up to the January 2007 parliamentary elections, the AL-led Grand Alliance announced it would boycott the elections and withdraw all its candidates. The Alliance was primarily concerned with three issues: the reformation of the Caretaker Government (CG); the perception of bias among members of the Election Commission (EC); and the erroneous voter list. As it appeared, Chief Advisor (CA) Iajuddin Ahmed, with the support of the BNP, was determined to hold the elections as scheduled despite these objections, thereby placing the opposition alliance in direct confrontation with government security forces. However, on January 11, 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed postponed elections, declared a state of emergency, and resigned as CA. A day later, Fakhruddin Ahmed was sworn in as the new CA and the new CG declared its intention to revise the voters list, institute a voter ID system, combat corruption, reconstitute the EC, and create an independent judiciary.
While these developments may have averted a violent clash among the parties, the state of emergency has granted the CG expansive powers. These powers have been utilized to carry out an ambitious campaign to combat corruption and round up alleged criminals. Furthermore, the High Court in Dhaka ruled that elections cannot be held for at least three months and ordered the EC to suspend all poll-related activities until the voter registration process has been amended.
NDI Programs
Over the past ten years, NDI has conducted a range of programs to assist Bangladeshis in their efforts to consolidate democracy and increase citizens' political participation. NDI has provided international and domestic election monitoring assistance, and has organized and conducted workshops, seminars, study missions and multiparty roundtable discussions with political and civil society leaders on a variety of governance and democracy issues.
In October 2003, the Institute launched a program to further democratic processes within the four major political parties- the AL, the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jatya Party- by encouraging dialogue between the parties, strengthening the role of parliament, increasing citizen access to government, and enhancing the legitimacy of the electoral process.
In recent years, NDI has conducted a series of political leadership training courses for mid-level representatives from all four major parties. NDI has also conducted two surveys on the integrity of the voters list, and released its findings in August 2005 and December 2006, respectively. In addition, the Institute continues to provide technical assistance to NGOs on the use of the study circle method to promote citizen participation in the democratic process.
In the lead up to anticipated January 2007 parliamentary elections, NDI provided assistance to political parties and election officials to prepare for elections. NDI sponsored an assessment of the pre-election environment, deployed a team of international long-term election observers, and also planned to field an international election mission to observe the elections. In future programs, NDI will continue to assist political parties and civil society leaders on a variety of issues, including the voters list, polling, election monitoring, and internal reform.
Funding
NDI's programs in Bangladesh have been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID), the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
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