IN THE political historical past of Bangladesh, election intervals have at all times been of paramount significance. From the Pakistan Motion to the delivery of Bangladesh, the mass rebellion of the Nineteen Nineties, or the aftermath of the 2024 ‘July Rebellion’, the correct to vote has persistently been on the centre of political discourse. Though the three elections after 1990 have been thought of free and truthful to some extent, they have been additionally usually marred by tensions, battle and boycotts, incessantly making headlines. Phrases like ‘free’, ‘truthful’, and ‘inclusive’ have usually been the topic of heated debates.
In such a state of affairs, after three controversial elections, an authoritarian regime, and the bloodstained ‘July Rebellion’ of 2024, there’s renewed urgency in discussions round electoral reform amongst political events, the Election Reform Fee, and the Nationwide Consensus Fee. A key proposal that has emerged from these discussions is the adoption of proportional illustration. However the query stays: is that this mannequin realistically relevant in Bangladesh? Might it remedy our long-standing political crises, or will it give rise to new complexities? This text goals to discover that query.
Proportional illustration is a reasonably simple system. Beneath this mannequin, political events obtain a share of parliamentary seats proportionate to the share of votes they obtain nationally. For instance, if a celebration receives 10 per cent of the nationwide vote, it might be entitled to 10 per cent of the seats in parliament, no matter whether or not it wins in any specific constituency. The system doesn’t rely upon geographical constituencies however relatively allocates seats primarily based on the full variety of votes nationwide. Some international locations use a blended system the place a part of the seats are crammed by way of direct voting and the remaining by way of proportional occasion lists.
At the moment, Bangladesh makes use of the First Previous the Submit system, the place the candidate who will get essentially the most votes in a constituency wins, even when their vote share is as little as 30–40 per cent. A serious flaw of this method is that it may well permit a celebration to achieve an awesome majority in parliament regardless of having solely a minority of the full votes. As an example, a celebration with simply 40 per cent of the favored vote may find yourself controlling 70–80 per cent of the seats, successfully distorting the need of the folks and marginalising different voters and political events. For the reason that govt department is fashioned by members of the legislature, this may end up in full domination by one occasion. This phenomenon has been starkly evident throughout Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year-long autocratic and fascist regime.
In response, many civil society members, political events, and the Nationwide Consensus Fee view proportional illustration as a viable and efficient different. They argue that it may well guarantee correct illustration, the place events obtain seats in alignment with their precise vote share, aligning with democratic values of fairness and justice. It could actually additionally stop anyone occasion or particular person from turning into autocratic. Smaller political events, usually rendered irrelevant underneath the present system, would have a voice in parliament in the event that they safe even a minimal proportion of votes. Because of this, the illustration of numerous ideologies, social lessons, girls, minorities, and marginalised communities would seemingly enhance, bringing pluralism into parliament. If no occasion secures an outright majority, coalition governments would turn out to be needed, encouraging political dialogue and compromise and fostering a tradition of coexistence.
Nevertheless, there are important qualitative and sensible challenges to implementing proportional illustration in Bangladesh. The political tradition right here tends to view opposition events as enemies, making coalition governance and consensus-building uncommon. Even in earlier ‘acceptable’ elections with multi-party alliances, main events just like the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion or Awami League usually held unilateral management. Usually, smaller events contested underneath the symbols of the bigger ones, diluting the essence of coalition politics. Furthermore, in an atmosphere stricken by rigged elections, partisan administration, and a politicised Election Fee, introducing a posh proportional illustration system could also be troublesome to implement successfully or acquire public belief. Within the proportional illustration system, MPs are elected primarily based on occasion lists relatively than direct votes, which may weaken particular person accountability and foster sycophancy inside events. This disconnect from constituents can undermine democratic responsiveness. Administering such a system would additionally require a technically succesful and clear administration, one thing Bangladesh presently lacks.
One other severe problem is the problem of forming a authorities if no occasion crosses the 50 per cent vote threshold. This is able to necessitate coalitions, however the deep mistrust between Bangladeshi political events may destabilise any such alliance. Moreover, inside PR, Islamic events could attempt to consolidate underneath a single poll to maximise seat allocations, making it tougher to determine region-specific recognition and growing inside conflicts. There’s additionally a danger that party-based vote allocation may intensify political favouritism and monetised nominations, with occasion leaders favouring loyalists and donors over public curiosity. Furthermore, events that oppose the democratic ethos of the nation could acquire seats and use their platform to sow discord. Whereas liberal democracy values minority and marginalised illustration, it additionally opens the door for probably disruptive fringe components to enter parliament underneath proportional illustration. Complicating issues additional, Bangladesh’s largest political occasion, the BNP, continues to oppose the system, favouring its conventional technique of in search of an absolute majority. This has stalled discussions inside the Nationwide Consensus Fee, jeopardising the prospect of political unity throughout a essential nationwide second.
Within the quick time period, Bangladesh may discover pilot initiatives and empirical analysis to check the feasibility of PR. Apparently, a type of proportional illustration already exists in girls’s reserved seats in parliament, that are allotted primarily based on the share of instantly elected seats held by every occasion.
In the long run, public debate and consciousness campaigns have to be launched to coach residents and political actors about electoral alternate options. A possible compromise could possibly be implementing PR in a bicameral legislature’s higher home, as proposed by the Nationwide Consensus Fee. This is able to assist political events ease into the tradition of proportionality and shared governance. Because the political system adapts to this mannequin by way of legislative and constitutional committees, it might finally be prolonged to the decrease home after one or two election cycles, primarily based on political consensus and real-world outcomes. The cornerstone of any significant reform have to be a good electoral course of, impartial election establishments, and a nonpartisan administration.
Globally, about 91 international locations use proportional illustration or a blended system. In South Asia, each Sri Lanka and Nepal make use of such strategies. Sri Lanka makes use of a pure proportional illustration system: 196 of its 225 parliamentary seats are crammed primarily based on district-level vote shares. On the identical time, the remaining 29 are allotted by way of nationwide occasion lists. In Nepal’s federal parliament, a blended mannequin is used: 165 members are instantly elected, and 110 members come from occasion lists primarily based on proportional vote share. A celebration should obtain at the least 3 per cent of the nationwide vote to qualify. Nations like Germany and New Zealand additionally use profitable blended techniques. Voters in Germany solid two votes, one for a constituency candidate and one other for a political occasion. Parliamentary seats are finally distributed primarily based on the second vote. New Zealand follows the same mannequin. Nevertheless, international locations like Italy and Israel have confronted persistent instability on account of extreme coalition fragmentation.
For Bangladesh, if post-uprising political tolerance holds and constitutional establishments are empowered by way of reforms, proportional illustration could be fruitful. Each nation has customised its personal model of blended techniques. Equally, Bangladesh should take into account creating a Bangladeshi hybrid mannequin, tailor-made to its distinctive socio-political realities. In the end, proportional illustration is not any divine cure-all for authoritarianism. Nevertheless it provides a sensible path towards lowering autocracy, fostering political range, and reflecting the folks’s will extra precisely. If political events can prioritise the state over self-interest, embrace dialogue, and decide to structural reforms, proportional illustration may also help reshape democracy right into a participatory and simply governance instrument, fulfilling the democratic aspirations voiced through the July Rebellion.
Md Talha is a political analyst and co-founder of the Citizen Initiative.
