Posted by: Maruf Mar 16 2009, 05:05 PM
I was vehemently against the infamous 'minus two' policy of the military backed caretaker government because in my opinion it was not the leadership that needed change rather it was the political and judicial systems that needed the change to create an atmosphere free from corruption, deprivation, and misuse of power. So, I opined that we should keep the current leadership intact but start the process to revamp our political, judicial, and bureaucratic systems to make it more efficient, flexible, dynamic and transparent, and build it as a breeding ground for new generation of dynamic leaders. The process is lengthy but it is the right way to approach the problem that the nation is currently facing.
I was also apprehensive that newly elected government with public mandate would be reluctant to carry on the reform programmes initiated by the CTG, firstly, because it had no public mandate and secondly, a lot of the reform programmes were actually aimed at brigning about changes to the internal functions of the political parties to make them transparent and democratic. So, I urged one of my senior friends, who is also one of the top government officials, to ask the CTG and the army to make sure that the next elected government did not roll back the reform programmes, particularly, for judiciary and political parties. But he was not impressed with my logic and maintained that the new government would continue the reform programmes of the CTG for the sake of the betterment of the country and its people. But I had my doubts and now it is proving to be true.
This thread will closely monitor current government's 'rolling back' process of the reform programmes initiated by the immediate past caretaker government.
Posted by: Maruf Mar 16 2009, 06:40 PM
The move to democratize the internal functions of political parties has received a serious blow as the current government has restricted the power of EC to cancel the registration of political parties if they nominate cantidates for election outside the panel approved by their grassroot activists and form organizations composed of teachers, students, and workers, which was prohibited in the earlier version of the law to stop partisan politics in educational institutions, and businesses. I believe this is a clear sign that the current government is reluctant to ensure accountability within internal functions of political parties, which is needed to move away from 'selection culture' and move toward to 'election culture' to nominate candiates to better reflect the hopes and aspirations of the graaroot level activits. The new amendment to this law will also kill all hopes for ending damaging teacher-student politics in the educational institutions that has been the root cause of nation's poor performance in the education sector.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=80047
QUOTE
EC stripped of power
Bill passed with amendment to RPO restricts it from enforcing political party registration provisions
Shakhawat Liton
The Awami League-led grand alliance government has curtailed the Election Commission's (EC) authority to take action against political parties breaching registration provisions.
The caretaker administration empowered the EC to cancel registration of a political party for violating the provisions regarding nomination of parliamentary candidates and formation of associated bodies.
But a bill passed in parliament on February 24 to ratify Representation of the People Order (amendment) ordinance restricts the EC's power to enforce the registration provisions.
The EC now holds no authority to take punitive steps against a registered political party choosing candidates from outside the panel forwarded by its grassroots.
The commission can take no action also if a party forms or continues with organisations made up of teachers, students, workers or employees.
As per the latest amendments to the RPO, a registered political party is not bound to inform the EC if it has picked its parliamentary contenders from grassroots panel and formed affiliated bodies in compliance with the RPO provisions.
It will only have to inform the EC in the event of any independent lawmaker joining it. Failure to do so might cost the party its registration.
The changes have in fact diluted the RPO provisions for cancelling registration of a political party, observe EC Secretariat officials.
Titled Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Act 2009, the new law says the commission will scrap a party's registration for failing to furnish the information required by this order (RPO) and electoral rules for consecutive years.
Unlike the ordinance, which prescribed cancellation of registration for not providing information for three years in a row, it does not specify time frame.
According to the act, a party might lose registration if it violates clause (4) of article 90B. Interestingly, 90B does not even have that clause.
The EC however retains the authority to cancel a party's registration for not submitting election expense returns within the stipulated time frame, that is, 90 days since gazette notification of election results and an additional 30 days in some cases.
Besides, it still can cancel registration if a party dissolves itself, gets banned by the government or does not contest parliamentary elections for two consecutive terms.
The new law however makes it even harder for a newly floated political party to be registered with the EC.
It says a new party seeking registration must have functional headquarters, offices in at least one third of 64 districts and 100 upazilas or metropolitan thanas, and a minimum 200 voters as members in each of the units.
As per the previous conditions, having headquarters and offices in 10 administrative districts and 50 upazila or metropolitan thanas would suffice.
Senior officials at the EC Secretariat said the changes would benefit the registered political parties.
All major political parties including AL accepted the electoral reforms before the ninth parliamentary election, and brought provisional changes in their constitutions to be in conformity with the RPO provisions.
AL parliamentary board nominated candidates for the election from the panels prepared by the party's grassroots level committees.
However, none of the political parties contesting the April 2 by-elections in seven constituencies has nominated candidates on recommendations of the grassroots.
The provision for picking parliamentary contenders from grassroots panels was introduced to curb business over nominations in the major political parties.
The prohibition against forming or having associated organisations comprising teachers, students and workers was envisioned to purge partisan politics from educational institutions and industries or businesses.
The definition chapter of the RPO act says the electoral roll means the final voter roll prepared under the Electoral Rolls Ordinance 2007. It says so even though the ordinance stopped functioning with the passage of Electoral Roll Act 2009 on February 24.
EC Secretariat officials said the definition must be changed.
Posted by: M M Huq Mar 18 2009, 08:04 AM
1.The politicians are being blamed too unfairly I believe. It is the bureaucrats who have staged a come back. Annulment of the separation of judiciary, control over EC, and eventually control over ACC are their objectives. Sheikh Mujib was killed the night before launching of BAKSAL and the annulment of the bureaucratic colonial mafia. Gen Zia was killed the night before Gen Majidul Haq was to announce a switch over to a new regime where the colonial leftovers would have little authority over all they surveyed.
2. AL is very weak now. The bureaucracy has struck at the right time.