Markings completion of one year since the signing of the July National Charter, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has remarked that the unprecedented opportunity to establish an accountable system of governance and state reform – created through the blood-stained July mass uprising – has fallen hostage to power politics and a bureaucratic vicious cycle.
Due to a lack of a strategic action plan and moral courage in implementing the state reform mandate entrusted to the interim government, alongside compromises with bureaucratic resistance, the desired foundation for state reform was not established.
Consequently, following the 13th National Parliamentary Election, the shift in absolute control over the legal, institutional, and bureaucratic ecosystem under the influence of power politics has left the prospects of state reform and the implementation of the July National Charter visibly held hostage.
Constitutional amendment and state reform have become dependent on the exclusive whims and desires of the ruling coalition, while the opposition coalition has abandoned the path of supporting state reform in the public interest to become engrossed in politics for party-political gain.
TIB observed that this situation has emerged because political parties and the bureaucracy failed to learn lessons from the July mass uprising.
In a statement issued today, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said that despite winning the election with pledges in their 31-point demand and election manifesto to implement the state reform agenda and the July Charter “to the letter,” Members of Parliament (MPs) of the winning party took a sinister stance by refusing to take oath as members of the proposed Constitution Reform Council, creating uncertainty over state reform and July Charter implementation.
Amending the constitution through the Constitution Amendment Committee, as well as state reform through legislative and institutional processes, has in practice become dependent on the exclusive whims and desires of the ruling coalition.
Of the 133 ordinances promulgated by the interim government, the present government has enacted a large number into laws. In doing so, ordinances that strengthened the executive branch with a greater lack of accountability were passed, whereas ordinances conducive to establishing accountability were repealed or suspended.
Thus, through the collusion of power politics and bureaucratic forces, the path to establishing an accountable and answerable government system – the core objective of the July movement – is being blocked.
Moreover, as the victorious force following the fall of authoritarianism, the main political party’s unchecked handover of land-grabbing, extortion, and politicisation under the mantra of “now it’s our turn” has rendered state reform and the implementation of the July Charter virtually impossible.
The TIB executive director said by repealing the “Supreme Court Secretariat (Amendment) Ordinance” and the “Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance” promulgated during the interim government’s tenure to ensure judicial independence, the government has adopted a position contrary to state reform.
Despite consensus among all political parties, instead of passing the bill with necessary amendments to the “Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Amendment Ordinance,” the government reverted to the previous (2004) law, blocking the path to overcoming the crisis of confidence troubling the ACC since its inception.
The recently passed law regarding the National Human Rights Commission, following the repeal of its ordinance, runs counter to long-cherished public aspirations for an authentic independent and effective commission and conflicts with international standards.
Moreover, repealing the Enforced Disappearances Prevention and Redress Ordinance, legislation was enacted providing protection to agencies most responsible for such incidents and human rights violations.
Under the pretext of abolishing Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), this agency – known as being responsible for the vast majority of human rights violations in the country – has been further empowered under a new name.
On the other hand, although all political parties agreed on forming an independent “Police Commission,” no initiative has been taken.
Despite consensus on declaring asset details of all elected public representatives within three months of assuming office and updating them regularly, no such directive or practice is being reflected among current MPs after taking oath.
Overall, by adopting a position contrary to the public aspirations behind the July movement, the government is moving towards establishing an executive power structure lacking accountability and answerability.
Questioning how, after suffering the consequences of turning all constitutional and statutory institutions – including the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, Anti-Corruption Commission, and Human Rights Commission – into party institutions during the authoritarian regime, the government and political parties forgot it in such a short span of time, Iftekharuzzaman asked how they could forget such lessons so quickly.
He noted that the July Charter was formulated precisely based on real experiences gained during authoritarian rule and past times, and political parties including the ruling party reached a consensus in the greater interest despite differences in certain areas.
Now, enticed by the exercise of majoritarian absolute power, the ruling party has taken a path contrary to those experiences, while the opposition coalition is primarily engaged in efforts to secure party-political gain.
In light of these developments, TIB called upon all political parties to demonstrate similar goodwill and wisdom in achieving the objectives of state reform, as demonstrated in establishing an unprecedented example of political consensus across Bangladesh’s divided political culture during the formulation of the July National Charter to prevent the recurrence of authoritarian rule alongside establishing democracy, good governance, and social justice.
