BNP is retracting from a "reform" that it once preached

Over two decades ago, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) proposed direct voting for reserved seats for women ahead of the general election, a progressive idea. However, after 24 years, the party now believes that the concept is not feasible, given the country's ‘political and parliamentary culture’. 

Bangladesh holds its general elections through a direct, first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system. The share of women in parliament has been historically low. The parliament currently reserves 50 seats for women candidates, ostensibly to address this issue by increasing the representation of women. These candidates are nominated by political parties following a general election, based on the proportion of seats the respective parties win.

The nomination process, however, threatens worsening the situation. Firstly, party nominations do not effectively empower women politically because the nomination process lacks transparency. Secondly, the accountability of these candidates rests with the party rather than with the citizens or constituents, as they do not need to participate in elections. Thirdly, there are very few instances of women who were initially nominated for reserved seats later choosing to run in direct elections, thereby preventing the process from increasing the direct participation of women. 

Asif Mohammad Shahan, a professor at the University of Dhaka and governance expert who has advocated for direct elections for reserved seats, has identified these three primary flaws.

Reserving seats for election rather than nomination is an antidote. The Yunus-led interim government’s national unity commission has been pushing for women candidates for the reserved seats to be elected through direct election, a view shared by the National Citizen Party (NCP). Additionally, the recently formed civil society Citizens’ Coalition is advocating for it alongside an increase in the number of reserved seats from 50 to 100. 

Kamrun Nahar, a women’s rights activist and member of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission – whose proposals included direct election for women’s reserved seats too – termed the existing system a “decorative arrangement”. She stated that MPs in reserved seats have not effectively addressed the interests of women; instead, they have acted as “blind supporters” of their respective parties, as they never had a constituency and are primarily accountable to their party for their nomination.

Shahan acknowledges that direct election will not solve the problems overnight, but stresses that it has the potential to create a pool of women leaders who will be accountable to the citizens, and will have more incentive to provide input on policy issues, especially those related to women. He believes that with the introduction of direct elections, women in reserved seats will no longer be treated as ‘second-class MPs’, and will be required to maintain direct connections with citizens. Not only has the current process failed to be conducive to creating a culture of the nominated candidates taking a greater stand for women’s rights and associated issues in parliament, but it is systemically incapable of being sustainable, and is fundamentally not democratic by virtue of being a selection.

However, the BNP, the largest national party since the controversial ban on the Awami League’s activities, is currently opposing the idea.

“We have proposed on behalf of our party that the systems for the direct election that were discussed, like rotation-based, are not feasible in Bangladesh’s political culture and parliamentary culture,” said Salahuddin Ahmed, a prominent standing committee member of the BNP, on June 3rd. He claimed that the provision could be implemented after two or three election cycles.

It was the BNP, in 2001, that promised to introduce the election of women in reserved seats through direct voting. The second paragraph of section 3.13 of the manifesto read: “With a view to enabling women to play a more effective role in parliament and empowering them, the number of reserved seats will be increased, and necessary steps will be taken to hold direct elections for women’s [reserved] seats.”

The BNP and its allies won a two-thirds majority at the 2001 general election, allowing them to amend the constitution. They increased the reserved seats for women from 30 to 45 – later increased further to 50 under the Awami League – but failed to hold the promised direct elections, going against their manifesto without offering any explanation.

Echoing Ahmed, AKM Wahiduzzaman, the ICT secretary of the party, stated that while the BNP proposed the direct election of women in reserved seats in 2001, the party realised that due to Bangladesh’s political culture, it was extremely difficult to find suitable candidates at that time.

“We still support that women should be elected through direct voting, but we think it is simply not the right time to implement this concept,” Wahiduzzaman argued. “Instead, we should give our women leaders some time, make the political sphere safer for women, and [...] we should pursue this idea after, let’s say, two election cycles,” he added. 

He also feared that if direct elections for reserved seats were implemented in the next election, given the current representation of women in political parties other than the BNP, it could result in a parliament with 95% of the successful women candidates being nominated by the BNP.

Nahar emphasised the need for initiatives to address this issue by holding political parties accountable. She referred to the amendments made to the Representation of the People’s Order (RPO) in 2008, which required all political parties to have at least 33% women in their central committees by 2020, and pointed to the fact that there was no provision to take action against any party that failed to meet this requirement. “Steps should be taken to ensure that it [the 33% female participation in central committees] is adhered to by the parties,” she commented.

Shahan discussed three modalities for direct elections in reserved seats. “The 1:3 system, where women candidates will cover three constituencies each having a male MP; the rotation system proposed by the Electoral Reform Commission; and the proposal that the political parties will nominate a certain percentage of women candidates for the general election.”

While the first option might evoke concerns about developing an alternative power structure, it can be addressed by explicitly highlighting the role of women MPs in their constituencies, according to him. “We can think about specific roles of these MPs in parliament,” he opined.

He also emphasised the need for political parties to nominate more women for general elections, in addition to the reserved seats. “Even if we go for direct election in reserved seats, we should also create pressure on the political parties so that they nominate a certain percentage of women candidates.”

The BNP’s significance to re-establishing electoral democracy in Bangladesh is evident, as is its stature as the party with the largest grassroots network. Its reticence on this issue, therefore, particularly in light of its past support, is concerning.●