Weakness in political system makes it un-democratic
THERE is perhaps no universally recognised definition of democracy, but it generally means 'government of the people by the people for the people' and a system which is governed by the rule of law where all citizens irrespective of caste, creed and colour have access to government and all citizens enjoy freedom and liberties. The government is accountable to people and transparent in governing the country. Where freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of press incorporated in the constitution are supposed to be strictly followed.
In our case and in most other cases as well, parties form government. But in our case most of them do not follow democratic norms in their own organisations. For instance, leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party have declared life long chair of the party. By all means the decision by the members of the standing committee negates basic principles of democracy. The decision does not reflect the opinion of the general members of the party. This also shows lack of leadership quality in the party.
It is not the question of sycophancy as some commentators would have us believe.
It is the inherent weakness in the political system in Bangladesh. There is no need to bring any resolution either by the standing committee of BNP or presidium of Awami League to declare life long chief of the party. In the existing system the top leaders of the parties will continue to preside over the destiny of the party until death. There is also no provision to groom the next chief of the party from among the dedicated and sincere activists. Therefore, chiefs of political parties will remain chiefs until they are incapacitated.
None of the political parties hold election to elect chairperson, president or Ameer and other members of the executive committee through secret ballot. The selection system itself is undemocratic.
Life long chairperson of a party holds absolute power and absolute power breeds corruption. The leaders in BNP unfortunately do not appear to have realised the lesson from the corruption charges brought against some stalwarts of the party by the interim government. Most of the corruption charges do not seem to be politically oriented. A glance of their wealth and property explains incompatibility with legal income. It is good that chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party did not accept the proposal. It is expected that chairperson of the BNP and president of Awami League may consider transferring power to their next rung leaders.
Reform in political parties is the demand of the day. There is no alternative to reform. BNP or Awami League must reform themselves to be truly democratic. Chief of the party should be elected for a certain period, say for four years. When such person is nominated as the prime minister, he or she should relinquish party post immediately to govern the country on non-party basis. In this case, the prime minister of the country should be accountable to the people of Bangladesh, not to a political party. All political parties should be pledge bound to the people that under no circumstances they would allow musclemen, black money and nepotism to enter in the arena of political parties.
The country needs a good government which follows rule of law and governs the country in democratic manner. Without reforming political parties, we cannot expect a good and honest government. Martin Luther King Jr once said "there comes a time one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political nor popular… but one must take it simply because it is right". Therefore, leaders of both leading political parties should resolve to restore confidence of the people in the parties. If the leaders do not behave in a democratic manner, the people of the country will themselves bring about drastic changes for their survival.
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