In its 50 years of history, Bangladesh has seen too many political ups and downs. And recently, political repression has been reaching new highs in this country. Through different television channels and online news media, you might see political news every day.
In this article, we will try to light upon the basic political problems of Bangladesh. Have a look at them to get the fundamental concept.
Top 5 Political Problems in Bangladesh
Among many others, here are the top 5 political problems that are visible right now.
Political Pluralism and Participation
From the beginning of Bangladesh, the two main parties, Awami League and Bangladesh National Party, have run the country at different times.
However, facing so many restrictions, wrongful arrest, and various other factors weakened the political party BNP. Many political figures even assume that the era of BNP is about to end.
On the other hand, it’s quite hard for a third party to win a seat in the parliament since the first election of Bangladesh. Still, Jatiya Party and the religiously based political party Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) succeeded in winning a fraction in every election.
But government banned JI from the 2014 and the 2018 elections because of their controversial policy. And now, as the BNP and JI are almost going out of the picture, Jatiya Party fills the gap. Although their action is not notable, everyone knows they are just puppet opposition.
Lack of Transparency in Election
Awami League government is the ruling party of Bangladesh. They first came to power in the election of 2008. And after that, they remain in control for three consecutive terms.
The last national election was held in 2018, and Awami League again won 96 percent of parliamentary seats, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina restored her position. However, the opposition party accused the government of attacking opposition members, threatening voters, and wrongful arrests.
After the allegation, the Election Commission questionably declared the election a fair one instead of properly investigating the accusation.
The presence of both international and national media was restricted during the time of the election. Moreover, many journalists were arrested back then, which fueled the overall situation and created suspicion.
Misapplication of Law
The major problem that the international community is concerned about in Bangladesh is media restriction.
The controversial behaviours against the freedom of talking started more than half a decade ago. And unfortunately, it does not restore even in this term. The situation has become more complicated because of the Digital Security Act in October 2018.
Although the law was introduce to prevent the misuse of information and communication technology, the authority mostly uses it to stop criticism against the government now.
Recently the restriction that Al Jazeera’s English news faces after reporting one of the corruption issues indicates the misapplication of law in Bangladesh.
Lack of Accountability
Extrajudicial killings were start in Bangladesh almost two decades ago after introducing a new security force call the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The current government continued the force. Till now, they are still in operation, and the number of unlawful killings is truly alarming.
Moreover, disappearances, tortures, or other violations become common by police, RAB, etc. The authority almost always hides the true fact by claiming those deaths occur during gunfights or in a crossfire.
Refugees Problem
Along with many internal political problems, Bangladesh is also attackes by outside politics. From 1990 over a million Rohingyas entered Bangladesh due to their internal conflict. In 2017 the situation became even worse when the Myanmar military started their oppressive military action on Rohingya. The clan fled to Bangladesh for protection.
Over 700,000 refugees have come to the border and created a devastating humanitarian crisis. The government has no other way than to let them enter the country and shelter them.
However, the country’s infrastructure is not ready to deal with this vast population. As a result, the refugees still suffer from a complete lack of their fundamental needs. They have no access to health care, employment, and education.
The government tried to handle the situation and reached a repatriation agreement with the Maynmar authority in October 2018. But the United Nations discourage it and said the conditions in Myanmar were still not fit for the refugees’ return.
Bangladesh is now trying to relocate the Rohingya tribe in Bhasan Char, a silt island off the coastline.
The Bottom Line
Like every other country in the world, Bangladesh also experiences both good things and bad things. Even in the middle of the political conflict, there are so many positive things that indeed deserve praise.
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