By The Numbers
Political party registration
WHEN three Americans get together, they form a club, a business firm is formed when three Britishers get together, and when three Bangladeshis get together, they form a political partyso goes a comical saying. But this comical saying is quite real for Bangladesh, as the country has got the highest number of political parties in the world.
Though, neither the government nor the Election Commission (EC) has any accurate figures on the number of political parties in the country, the EC invited one hundred and fourteen political parties to discuss reforms to the voter list. The vast majority of the parties invited by the EC exist only in name.
The reconstituted EC initiated a commendable move for registration of political parties to bring them under a regulatory framework. The people felt encouraged by the EC's proposed electoral reforms, particularly the move to register political parties with necessary reforms during the current interregnum so that democracy could be sustainable.
In the revised draft of its proposed electoral law reforms the EC had relaxed some conditions for registration of the political parties. According to the relaxed conditions, a political party would be eligible for registration if it had polled at least one percent of the total votes cast in any general election since independence. It had been fixed at two percent earlier. A new political party would be eligible for registration if it had organisational committees in at least one-third of the districts and at least two hundred members in each upazila.
The EC had reiterated in the revised draft that political parties willing to be registered would have to include in their constitutions that they would not have student wings in the educational institutions, labour wings in the industries, or units in other countries.
At the time of partition of India in 1947, there was practically only one political party in East Pakistan, the Muslim League (ML). All India ML changed its name to Pakistan ML in December 1947. But the dissident members of the ML formed new political parties, such as Awami Muslim League, Nezame Islam, Khilafat-i-Rabbani, Krishak Sramik Party etc.
Islamic political parties mushroomed in the country after the constitutional ban on them was lifted in 1976, allowing formation of political parties based on religion. Two Islamic parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and Nezame Islam, contested in the 1979 parliamentary election after withdrawal of the ban.
But the number of Islamic parties that contested in the 1996 parliamentary election rose to eighteen, while the total number of participating parties in the first parliamentary election of the country held in 1973 was only fourteen. So far, thirty Islamic political parties and their different factions have contested in the parliamentary elections since 1979.
In fact, there was a boom in political parties, especially of Islamic parties, after lifting of the ban in 1976. Twenty-nine political parties contested in the 1979 parliamentary election, of which eighteen parties failed to secure any seat while nine parties polled only 0.01% votes each.
The EC allocated election symbols to ninety political parties, but only seventy-six contested in the 1991 parliamentary election. Of the parties, sixty-three not only failed to secure any seat but also polled less than one percent votes. Most of these parties polled no votes outside the party leaders, their friends and family members.
The highest number of political partieseighty-onecontested in the 1996 parliamentary election, but seventy-five failed to secure any seat. The number of contesting political parties decreased to fifty-four in the 2001 parliamentary election.
Despite the floating of so many political parties over the years, voters are essentially grouped under two major partiesAL and BNPthe other major parties being Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami-Bangladesh.
With the gradual evolution of democracy, the process of government has more and more been spelt in terms of opinion rather than force. Therefore, a multiplicity of political parties is necessary in a democracy, but not such a vast number without definite aims and objectives as we have today in Bangladesh.
USA and UK are the two traditional abodes of the bi-party system, while the multiparty system is a characteristic feature of democracies in Europe. For instance, France has today about fifteen political parties, Germany fourteen, Italy twenty, Switzerland twenty, Greece seventeen, Belgium twenty-one, Norway seventeen, Poland ten, and Sweden sixteen, Hungary eleven and Portugal eight.
Among Asian countries, India has twelve political parties, Indonesia four, Japan eleven, South Korea six, Pakistan four, Lebanon eight, Nepal four, Thailand three, Philippines seven, Taiwan nine, Syria two and Malaysia sixteen.
As there are no official criteria for formation of a political party, we have seen a vast outgrowth of political parties in the country over the years. Most of these parties have failed to emerge as responsible, accountable and transparent organisations to turn social thought into political action. Consensus on common national agenda has also become hard to achieve because of the existence of so many political parties with different ideologies.
The EC has now relaxed further the rules for registration of political parties. But the relaxation should not go so far as to allow a vast number of such parties to be registered, which will exist only in name or to serve selfish and narrow interests.
The EC had moved to make registration mandatory for all parties. But the major parties opposed it, forcing the EC to make it optional before the 2001 parliamentary election. The parties that are still opposing it should realise that the proposed reforms are not urged by the EC only but also by the whole nation.
Bringing the political parties under a regulatory framework is long overdue, and enforcing registration is the first crucial step. The political system in the country needs reforms to conform to the democratic dictum. Implementation of the EC's proposed reforms will make politics free from the caprice of parties and persons, and the political landscape of the country will be drastically changed for durable democracy.
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