AL secures majority, plans to charter cabinet by mid Jan
Staff Reporter :
The 12th parliamentary election, which saw the participation of 28 political parties, has left only five to represent in the parliament, raising concerns about the absence of a robust opposition in the House.
Securing a staggering unofficially 222 seats out of the total 298, the next parliament is set to be marked by an unparalleled dominance of the Awami League.
According to unofficial results, the Jatiya Party secured 11 seats, while Bangladesh Kalyan Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Bangladesh Workers Party each managed to secure one seat.
The rest of the 23 participating parties faced a significant setback, failing to gain popular support of the voters.
The AL independent candidates, popularly known as ‘Dummy’ candidates, bagged the highest number of 62 seats in the election and in some cases they had beaten the stalwart candidates of Awami League and other parties, adding another dimension to the country’s electoral landscape.
As Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and rest of the registered political parties boycotted the election, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Awami League, encouraged her party leaders to be independent candidates apart from party nominated candidates to show the election more participatory.
However, a total of 1,970 candidates, including 1,534 from 28 political parties and 436 independent aspirants, contested the 12th parliamentary election.Of the 28 parties, Awami League contested in 266 seats, Jatiya Party 265 seats, Workers Party 26 seats, Bangladesh Kalyan Party 16 seats, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) 66 seats, Islamic Front Bangladesh 39 seats, Islamic Oikya Jote 42 seats, Krishak Shramik Janata League 30 seats, Ganoforum nine seats, Ganofront 21 seats, Jaker Party 21 seats, National Party (JP-Manju) 13 seats, Trinamool BNP 135 seats, National People’s Party (NPP) 122 seats, Bikalpo Dara Bangladesh 10 seats, Bangladesh Islamic Front 37 seats, Bangladesh Congress 109 seats, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan 11 seats, Bangladesh National Party five seats, Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) 56 seats, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation 38 seats, Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) five seats, Bangladesh Nationalist Front 45 seats, Bangladesh Muslim League four seats, Supreme Party 79 seats, Sangskritik Muktijote 63 seats, Samyabadi Party four seats, and Gonotantri Party 10 seats.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Kazi Habibul Awal, on Monday told the journalists that the voter turnout finally stood at 41.8 percent, but on Sunday he stated the figure at 40 percent, while initially he mentioned it 28 percent.
He said out of 300 constituencies, polls to one constituency, Naogaon-2, were postponed following the death of an independent candidate while the result of Mymensingh-3 constituency will be announced later as polling of one of the centres was withheld. The election of the centre of Mymensingh-3 is scheduled to be held on January 13.
Rejecting the election, the opposition political parties, including BNP, however, has said that the people had boycotted the poll.
Analysts note that many of these independent candidates were, in fact, supported by the ruling Awami League, raising questions about the diversity of representation and the potential for a lack of critical voices in the parliament.
Experts warn that the 12th parliament is on track to become a unipolar government, given the Awami League’s overwhelming majority to dictate any Bill to pass in the august House.
The concern is amplified more by the fact that many candidates securing seats were reportedly nominated through negotiations facilitated by the incumbent government.
These candidates will also talk on the same wave length of the government, they observed.
In a parliamentary democracy, they said, a robust opposition is considered crucial to serve as a shadow government, providing critical perspectives on legislation and ensuring a more people-oriented decision-making process.
When all parliamentarians will be from the same side, it will raise questions about the effectiveness of checks and balances within the parliamentary system, they added.