Party Candidate Selection Process in Bangladesh

Research Report

Candidates Selection Process

An Analysis of Post 1990 Parliamentary Elections in

Bangladesh

Dr. K.M.Mahiuddin

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Government & Politics

Jahangirnagar UniversitySavar, Dhaka.

E-mail: [email protected]

A b s t r a c t

This is a study on party candidate selection with particular reference to Bangladesh. The main

query of this study is how parties select their candidates for the parliamentary elections.

Drawing on a theoretically in-framed case study of Bangladesh, the present study examines

the impact of candidate selection process where the political parties are not internally

democratic.

Candidate selection is the process by which political parties decide who will be on the ballot

paper as their recommended candidates. The way in which they make that choice is mainly

determined by their own rules of procedures or by the state law. In most of the democracies

political parties are free to make their own rules of procedure for the purpose of selecting

candidates while there are some countries where the constitution, electoral law or the political

parties’ law determines the criteria for selecting the party candidates.

Despite differences in procedure, party candidates are selected in Bangladesh by the

parliamentary board comprised of the top-brass party leaders. The major parties set up a

central selection board for the purpose of selecting party candidates for parliamentary pools.

The name and composition of the board are similar, for example, both the Bangladesh

Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Awami League form parliamentary boards with eleven

members headed by the respective party chiefs. These two parties have developed a practice

of receiving applications from the aspirant candidates in a prescribed application form. After

scrutinizing these applications aspirant candidates are called for an interview by the

parliamentary board. Although, parliamentary board is, according to party constitution,

supreme decision making body, party chiefs in practice takes the final decision after

consultations with other members of the parliamentary board. Like the two major parties

Jatiya Party chairman acts as the chairman of the parliamentary board and has the final say

regarding selecting candidates, parliamentary board formally approves his decisions only.

In the recent ninth parliamentary election, Bangladesh Awami League

empowers the grassroots party committees for making a candidate list for

the respective constituency. Other parties did not follow any procedure for

choosing candidates at any level through internal elections. Although AL

candidates were theoretically chosen by the grass root party committee,

the basically hierarchical nature of party organization gives the party

central office significant influence through approval procedures. The

present study therefore attempts to analyze the formal procedure of the

candidate selection process and examines the role of party rank and file in

this process. Keeping in mind the above discussions, the present study

focuses on the candidate selection process with particular examples and

illustrations from the post 1990 parliamentary elections.

The present study reveals that political parties in Bangladesh are not democratic internally.

Although political parties have democratic principles in their constitution, but in practice most

of the major parties do not follow these principles. There had been a great gap between the

theoretical role of the parliamentary board of political parties and the personal power and

authority of the party chiefs. The study concluded that parliamentary candidate selection was

not made through democratic process. Real power and authority regarding the selection of

candidates are centralized to the central party leaders particularly the party chief decides who

will be contested in the election as the party candidates.

The study shows that two major political parties the BNP and the AL awarded nomination to

those candidates who were able to contribute huge amounts of money to the party fund and to

spent money in the election campaign for winning the polls. Through “mononoyan banijya”

or "nomination trade" many businessmen-industrialists got the nomination and became the

Members of the parliament. Such practice not only affected the image of the parties, it also

created a new political class who intended to use their parliamentary position to make money.

Due to the absence of democratic principal in the party governance party members could

hardly say anything about party policy. Members who criticized their party leaders or

challenged their decision had been either expelled from the party in the name of party

discipline or not nominated for the election. The party candidates who are elected to the

parliament are also controlled by the party chiefs personally rather than institutional norms.

This practice prevented the parliamentarians to participate in the parliamentary process

effectively. For strengthening the parliamentary parties political should be democratic

internally, in this regard the study makes necessary suggestions.

C o n t e n t s

CHAPTER I

Introduction and Methodology 1

CHAPTER II

Methods of Candidate Selection 8

CHAPTER III

Political Parties in Bangladesh: Structure and Procedures 16

CHAPTER IV

Candidate Selection Process in Bangladesh 29

CHAPTER V

Conclusion 42

Bibliography

CHAPTER I

Introduction and Methodology

Introduction

This is a study on party candidate selection with particular reference to Bangladesh. The main

query of this study is how parties select their candidates for the parliamentary elections.

Drawing on a theoretically in-framed case study of Bangladesh, the present study also

examines the impact of candidate selection process where the political parties are not

internally democratic.

Candidate selection is one of important functions of the political parties. This role

distinguishes political parties from the other organizations, such as interest group or pressure

group. Richard S. Katz notes, “Selection of candidates to contest elections is one of the

functions that separate parties from other organizations that may try to influence electoral

outcomes and governmental decisions, but also in the sense that the candidates it nominates

play an important role in defining what the party is.”1 In democratic polities, political parties

play the central role in nominating legislative candidates. According to Pippa Norris political

parties shape the recruitment ‘supply’ of potential candidates through providing social

networks, training, civic skills, and organizational experiences that are valuable in the pursuit

of elected office.”2 Although parliamentary candidates are mainly chosen by the political

parties there is a chance for the individual citizen to stand for election. In many countries

independent candidates who meet the certain requirements, specified by the electoral law, can

stand for elected office without any party backing or affiliation but in the most democracies

like the USA, the UK and Germany only few independent candidates are elected to the

parliament and they are usually provided with minimum financial assistance and support that

party provide.

1 Katz, Richard S. (2001), “The Problem of Candidate Selection and Models of Party Democracy”, Party Politics, Vol. 7, No.3, p.278.

2 Norris Pippa (2005), “Building political parties: Reforming legal regulations and internal rules”, Research Report for Strengthening Political Parties, Stockhom: International IDEA, p.20.

The nature of nominating procedure determines the nature of the party. Many scholars like

M. Duverger, Gallagher, E.E. Schattschneider argue that the candidate selection process both

affect and reflect the distribution of power within the party. According to Schattschneider,

“the nominating process has become the crucial process of the party. He who can make the

nominations is the owner of the party. This is therefore one of the best points at which to

observe the distribution of power within the party.”3

Candidate selection is the process by which political parties decide who will be on the ballot

paper as their recommended candidates. The way in which they make that choice is mainly

determined by their own rules of procedures or by the state law. In most of the democracies

political parties are free to make their own rules of procedure for the purpose of selecting

candidates while there are some countries where the constitution, electoral law or the political

parties’ law determines the criteria for selecting the party candidates.

Criteria for the selection of candidates for elections can fall in two categories: open (or

democratic), where the party’s rank-and-file members and sympathizers take a vote to

nominate their candidate and closed (or undemocratic), consisting of a closed-door decision

at the elite level of the party.4 In the open democratic process, candidates are selected by

direct voting of all party members from the concerned constituency which is called primary

election. Primary election is conducted within the party to select its candidates. In the closed-

door process candidates either can be selected party committee of the concerned constituency

or national executive committee. Where candidates are selected by the committee of the

concerned constituency there is a chance of toadyism and favoritism and where candidates

are selected by national executive committee parties exercise greater control.5

In the United States, aspiring candidates for the House and Senate seats are nominated

through a primary election. The party rank and file participates in primary elections to select

their candidates. In Gallagher words: “Virtually no other political parties in the world

nominate candidates to the national legislature through party elections”.6 In most of the

3 Schatterschneider, E.E. (1942), Party Government New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p101. 4 Gilles Serra, “Why Primaries? The Strategic Choice of a Candidate Selection Method” paper presented at the

annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in September 2007.5 Prasai ,Khagendra, "Inner Party Democracy", Paper presented at the seminar on "Democratization of

Political Party", December, Nagarkot6 Gallagher, Michael, “Conclusion”, in Candidate Selection in Comparative Perspective: The Secret Garden of

Politics, eds. Michael Gallagher and Michael Marsh, London: Sage, 1988, p. 238.

European countries, candidates are generally selected in committees or conventions where a

group of party activists interview the candidates and select among them. A few parties allow

all enrolled party members to hear the candidates and then vote on them in party meetings,

but more parties have national executive committees to choose candidates.

Despite differences in procedure, party candidates are selected in Bangladesh by the

parliamentary board comprised of the top-brass party leaders. The major parties set up a

central selection board for the purpose of selecting party candidates for parliamentary pools.

The name and composition of the board are similar, for example, both the Bangladesh

Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Awami League form parliamentary boards with eleven

members headed by the respective party chiefs. These two parties have developed a practice

of receiving applications from the aspirant candidates in a prescribed application form. After

scrutinizing these applications aspirant candidates are called for an interview by the

parliamentary board. Although, parliamentary board is, according to party constitution,

supreme decision making body, party chiefs in practice takes the final decision after

consultations with other members of the parliamentary board. Like the two major parties

Jatiya Party chairman acts as the chairman of the parliamentary board and has the final say

regarding selecting candidates, parliamentary board formally approves his decisions only.

The party constitution (Article 25/4) makes it mandatory for the party members to comply

with the direction of the party chairman.

In the recent ninth parliamentary election, Bangladesh Awami League empowers the

grassroots party committees for making a candidate list for the respective constituency. Other

parties did not follow any procedure for choosing candidates at any level through internal

elections. Although AL candidates were theoretically chosen by the grass root party

committee, the basically hierarchical nature of party organization gives the party central

office significant influence through approval procedures. The present study therefore

attempts to analyze the formal procedure of the candidate selection process and examines the

role of party rank and file in this process.

Objectives of the Study

Since the independence of the country, because of continuity and discontinuity of the

functioning of parliamentary system, in a broader sense political regime can be framed in

three different time spans. The year between 1972 and 1975 was a period of the beginning of

parliamentary democracy with an authoritarian party rule. Since the military intervention the

years between 1975 and 1990, are marked as strong executive system under military regime.

During this period undemocratic practices and political stalemate weakened the growth of

party system. However, in the beginning of 1991, parliamentary system of government has

been established on the basis of political consensus and model of the caretaker government

adopted in the constitution for holding free and fare elections. But the lack of transparency in

the candidate selection process generates electoral corruption. Civil society, media, NGOs

and donor agencies therefore make emphasis on democratization of candidate selection

process. Major political parties also agreed to bring changes in the parliamentary candidate

selection process.

Keeping in mind the above discussions, the present study focuses on the candidate selection

process with particular examples and illustrations from the post 1990 parliamentary elections.

This study will examine the candidate selection process focusing on the following two issues:

1) How do the parties select their candidates for parliamentary pools?

2) What conditions do matter for selecting candidates?

This study particularly focus on the perceptions of internal party structure as a factor

determining of candidate selection, and pose it as a major hypothesis for this research.

Data and Methodology

This study analyzes the candidate selection process by examining party structure and legal

basis. Information will be mainly collected from the primary and secondary sources. Party

constitutions, reports and Rules of Procedure which are used for operating parliamentary

parties are also examined. Research reports, books and articles published in home and abroad

are also reviewed. Because of time constraint and limited financial support the present study

specifically focuses on the candidate selection process of the two major political parties- the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) with necessary

illustrations.

The present study took about one year. The first three months were spent for collecting

literatures and building up a theoretical framework. Following three months were spent for

building up instruments for data collection and collecting information from the library, JS

archives and political party offices. Data compiling, analysis and interpretation took next

three months. The last three months were spent for report writing and editing.

Theoretical Framework

For the purposes of analyzing parliamentary candidate selection process I rely on a model

developed by Richard Matland that illustrates the legislative recruitment process. Matland’s

model is marked by four stages: beginning with eligibility, moving to aspirant, then to

candidate, and finally, to elected Member. In between these four stages there are three crucial

barriers that candidates must overcome before they can enter a legislative career. First, they

need to select themselves to stand for election. The decision to stand for election is influenced

by three factors: personal ambition, resources and opportunities to run for office. Second,

they need to get selected by party members as the candidate. Finally, they must be elected or

rather “selected” by the electorate. In the legislative recruitment process political parties act

as useful and necessary gate-keepers narrowing down the list of candidates to a small enough

pool.

Matland argued that the opportunities of legislative recruitment depend on the nature of the

electoral opportunity structure; that is, the party context, the political context and the social

context. The party context is the current party conditions, its rules, policy on representation

and ideology. The political context refers to the opportunities for election, level of

competition, number of spaces available, rate of legislative turnover and the electoral system.

Finally, the social context includes the political culture, specifically social values, attitudes

and norms that affect the demands for various characteristics of candidates.

Source: P. Norris (1996), “Legislative Recruitment”, in L. Leduc, R. Niemi and P. Norris, eds., Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspective. London: Sage, p. 196.

Justification of the Study

The quality of candidates selected determines the quality of deputies (parliament members) elected, of

the resultant parliament, often of the members of the government and, to some extent, of a country’s

politics. A change in parties’ selection procedures in any given country might thus have direct

consequences for the way politics operate here. Moreover, the way in which political parties select

their candidates may be used as an acid test of how democratically conduct their internal affairs.

(Gallagher and Marsh, 1988, p.1)

Though the candidate selection process is crucial important for understanding the

composition of the parliaments and the behavior of their members, 7 until1990s only a few

research studies dealt with this issue. But there is a growing literature studying the candidate

selection process and its consequences. Several empirical studies have found that analyze the

candidate selection process of the developed democracies. For example, Leon D. Epstein,

Richard S Katz, Kasse Max and Pippa Noris analyze the candidate selection process of the

Western political parties, Rahat and Hazan focus on the Israelis political parties, IDEA

research group conduct a survey research to identify the problems of democratization of

candidate selection process in South Asia. Although number of studies have been conducted

7 Rahat, Gideon, “Candidate selection: the choice before the choice”, Journal of Democracy, Volume 18, Number 1 January 2007, p.158.

Eligible Aspirants Candidates MP

Resources

Ambition

Party Gatekeepers GGGaGGateGatekeeper

Voters

Legislative Recruitment Process

in abroad focusing the candidate selection process, there is no particular study in Bangladesh.

In this context the present study will generate ideas about the candidate selection process.

CHAPTER II

Methods of Candidate Selection

One of the most important functions of the political parties is to select their candidates for the

elections of the parliament and other representative bodies. The way through which political

parties nominate their candidates is mainly determined by their own internal rules and

procedures while in some democracies the constitution, the electoral law and the political

party laws determine the way that the parties are to select their candidates. This chapter

analyzes the legal framework and the different methods of candidate selection process of the

selected developed and developing countries to elicit the different variables and factors which

determines the candidate selection process. These variables and factors will then be examined

in the case of Bangladesh.

Legal Framework

In most established democracies, candidate selection is an internal matter of the political

parties. They are free to set rules for the nomination of the person who will run as their

candidate in a given election. For example, in the UK, Canada and Japan political parties are

free to make their own rules for choosing their own candidates. In few countries like the

United States, Germany, New Zealand, Norway (until 2002), and Finland laws lay out a

general guide line for candidate selection. They have legal provisions requiring that political

parties follow democratic procedure in candidate selection. The Political Parties Act which

proclaimed in Pakistan 2002 directs the political parties to maintain internal democracy. In

other South Asian countries, there are some rules and regulations relating to the formation,

registration and recognition of parties but there is no legal provision for regulating the

candidate selection process. Though the legal provisions in the South Asian specifies that

who will be eligible to stand for election but the process of candidate selection is entirely left

to the political parties.

Many countries like Canada, Finland, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh political

parties are required to be registered to the election commission. Only registered political

parties are eligible to put up their candidates for the parliamentary elections. In many

countries, political parties adopted the quota system to reduce sex and ethnic inequality. For

example, in Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Brazil political parties reserve certain number of

seats for the women. For example, Article 114 of the Constitution of Nepal requires every

party participating in parliamentary elections to reserve five percent of the total seats for

women. Nepal has a mixed system of proportional and Fast Past the Post electoral system. In

accordance with Section 7(3) of the Electoral Laws, every political party willing to

participate in the election should have submit a candidate list to the election commission

ensuring proportional representation of Women, Dalits, Oppressed tribes/

Indigenous tribes, Backward regions, Madhesi, including other groups for

election under the Proportional Electoral System where the Political Parties

shall be voted upon considering the entire country as a single election

constituency.8

Congressional Candidates Selection

In the US congressional elections, candidates run for the House of Representatives in 435

separate single member districts and for the Senate in 50 different states. Until the early

twentieth century, nominations were entirely the responsibility of party organization.

Significant reform was brought in the party democracy in the early 1990s by the

progressives.9 They argued that party organization should operate according to the same

principle that governs elections: power should rest with ordinary voters rather than with party

bosses. The progressive movement brought two significant changes: one was the direct

election of U.S. senators, who had been earlier chosen by the state legislators and the second

change was the introduction of the primary election as a method of choosing nominees. 10

Primary election system gives rank-and-file voters opportunity to select party nominees for

public offices.

The American constitution empowers individual state to determine their election laws for

selecting candidates for the congressional elections. Most states conduct closed primaries, in

which participant is limited to voters who declare their affiliation to the party a specified

period prior to the election. Other states follow the method of open primaries. Open primary

is a form of direct election where participants either do not need to declare party affiliation as

8 Election to Members of the Constituent Assembly Act, 2064 (2007), enacted by the Nepal Parliament, June 22, 2007.

9 The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920's.10 Patterson, ThomasE., The American Democracy, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2003, p.242.

a pre-requisite to participating in a primary election or may do so on election day. A few

states follow a third form of primary called ‘the blanket primary’. The states provide a single

primary ballot listing the name of the candidates of both the Democrat and the Republican

but voter can select a candidate of either party. In open, closed or blanket system, party

members, independents and new voters can participate in the selection of party’s nominees.

The candidates who receive the largest numbers of votes become the party’s candidate even if

the state or local party leaders would have preferred someone else. Some states prohibit a

candidate who loses a primary from running as an independent or third party candidate. The

system of making congressional nominations through primary elections also severely limits

the influence of party organizations on the selection of House and Senate candidates.11

Candidate Selection Methods: Germany

Germany has mixed system of the First Past the Post and proportional representation. Half of

the seats of the Bundestag are filled by the FPTP system from single member constituencies

and rests of the members are elected through party lists. Each voter has two votes: one for

constituency member and another for the party list. The candidate selection for both the

single-member constituencies and the party list is regulated by the Law on Political Parties

and the Federal Electoral Law. The Law on Political Parties defines the way of selecting

candidates for election to all levels of government and the Federal Electoral Law lays out a

detail framework for that purpose. Article 17 of the Law on Political Parties states:

“Candidates for election to parliament must be chosen by secret ballot. The nomination

procedure is governed by the election laws and the party statutes.” The Federal Electoral Law

lays out a general framework for candidate selection. Article 21 of the Federal Electoral Law

requires a party candidate to be selected by either an assembly of party members or an

assembly of party delegates elected by an assembly of party members from their own ranks.

In all cases, candidates and delegates must be elected by secret ballot. The procedures

prescribed for the nomination of candidates in a constituency are broadly applicable to the

nomination of Land lists. The party law decentralizes the candidate selection process and

requires that candidate should be selected according to democratic procedures, protecting the

rights of the party members and potential candidates.

11 Patterson, Thomas E., opcit., p.243, Gerber, Elisabeth R. & Morton, Rebecca B. (1997), Primary Election Systems and Policy Divergence, Legislative Studies Quarterly 14: 465-486.

Candidate Selection Methods: Britain

The selection of party candidates for the British parliamentary elections is very much an

internal party affairs. The party’s rules for the selection of candidates differ, but in each case

selection is a function of the local party organization, subject to a degree of central control.

Unlike the parties of the United States, a system of primary elections is not applied in the

selection of party candidates. A choice is made by the local constituency party committee but

the central party committee supervises the whole process, they have also power to intervene.

In the Conservative party, the National Union’s Standing Advisory Committee on Candidates

(SACC) is responsible for finalize the procedures to be followed for the selection process.

Candidate selection process begins with the submission of names to the local party office

concerned. Any individual party member who wants to be included to the list applies himself

or suggests someone else. Once candidates get on to the approve list they may apply for

vacancies in various constituencies. In the constituency level, the selection process involves

four basic steps: application, short listing by selection committee, and further elimination by

the Executive Committee before final approval by the Special General. In the general meeting

party members are allowed to vote for selecting their candidates. Once the candidates are

selected in a general meeting, select report is sent to the Central Executive Council for final

approval. Though the Central Executive Council can veto the decision, it almost never does.12

The Labour Party applies same general principles for selecting their candidates for the

parliamentary elections but the National Executive Committee (NEC) exercise less control

than the Conservative party committee. The selection process begins with receiving

applications from the members. In the following stage, the NEC prepares and approves a

‘parliamentary panel’ of prospective candidates. The list is sent to the local party office to

select their candidates although the party’s local branch is not obliged to choose candidates

from the panel list. In the third stage, the candidate is chosen by individual party members on

the basis of one member, one vote. Finally, the choice which is made by the local branch is

sent to the NEC for endorsement. If a sitting MP wants to be reelected may on certain

12 Maor, Moshe(1997), Political Parties and Party Systems: Comparative Approaches and British Experiences, Rutledge, p.127.

conditions be endorsed as a candidate without having to submit to a ballot of party

members.13

In the Liberal the selection process involves five different stages: initial application;

acceptance on the regional approved list; application to a constituency; short list and final

selection process. In the last two stages, grassroots level party members have the opportunity

to select their candidates. The details of Liberal candidates selection process is laid down in

the party’s Rule Book. In accordance with the provisions of the Rule Book, a ‘candidate

committee’ is set up by the state party for making a candidates list from the paid up members

of party. Once the candidate list is prepared a sub-committee is appointed to make a short list

from the approved candidate list. Candidates are finally chosen by the local party members

on the basis of one member, one vote. If a sitting MP wishes to be a candidate, s/he requires

endorsement by the majority at a general meeting of local party. If s/he fails to receive their

consent, the MP may request a ballot of all local party members. In the selection process, the

national party committee has no power to veto a local party decision.

To sum up, candidate selection in Britain is an internal matter of the political parties. The

three parties, the Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal apply almost the same principle.

The selection of candidate for particular constituency is the responsibility of the concerned

local party, but with the supervision of central party committee.

Candidate Selection Methods: Examples of other European Countries

In New Zealand, political parties select their candidates in accordance with the provisions of

the Electoral Act 1993. This Act lays out a general framework for candidate selection.

Section 71 of the Electoral Act makes it mandatory for the registered parties to follow

democratic procedure in candidate selection. Act specifies in section 71 that candidates either

will be selected by the party members or delegates. Each registered party has own candidate

selection rules and these rules are made available for public. In Norway from 1920 until

2002, parties selected their candidates through regional conventions comprising selected

delegates. Similarly in Finland, candidates are selected by their party members.

13 Turpin, Colin & Tomkins, Adam (2007), British Government and the Constitution, Cambridge University Press, p.540.

To sum up, the US primaries, which are regulated by the individual state, remain rare in the

European countries. From the British examples it is revealed that the national party

committees provide a list from which the local party committees propose the name of

candidates, but the national committees have been able to retain ultimate control over

candidate selection. In the German system, both local and national party elites have

considerable influence in the process of candidate selection. Where the electoral system is a

mixed of FPTP and PR, the local party elites have considerable influence in constituencies

and national party elites can influence in selecting the party list candidates.

Candidate Selection Methods: South Asia

As in Britain, the selection of party candidates in South Asia is an internal party affair.

Political parties in South Asia are not formally obliged to select their candidates for

parliamentary elections through internal election. All countries in South Asia, except Sri

Lanka and Nepal, follow the First Past The Post (FPTP) system. Sri Lanka adopted a system

of Proportional Representation (PR) system in 1978 and Nepal has a mixed system of FPTP

and PR. In a PR system, parties are required to submit a candidate list for each multi-member

electoral district. Whether the election system is FPTP or PR, despite differences in

procedures the method of candidate selection is almost similar. Candidates are usually

selected by a committee called parliamentary board, central election committee or candidate

selection committee. This committee is set up with the top brass party leaders. Although,

selection committee has given supreme power to select candidates from the list of panel or

applications forwarded by the local party office, in most parties, the party chiefs (presidents,

chairpersons or general secretaries) may consider any other names that are important for the

party in the constituencies. The following paragraphs describe the candidate selection process

of some South Asian parties.

The Indian National Congress set up a Central Election Committee (CEC) to supervise the

candidate selection process. This committee provides a guideline for the Pradesh Congress

Committees (PCCs) which will be followed in selecting best candidates from the activists.

Candidate election process begins with receiving applications from the intending candidates.

It is obligatory for the PEC to consult the District Congress Committee. After assessing the

view-points of the members of the DCC, the PEC prepares a panel of names not exceeding

five members in each constituency and forwards it to the CEC. While forwarding the panel,

the PEC indicates the reasons for its recommendations and point out how far the individuals

recommended give representation to the minorities, women and persons working in the labor

field.14

A typical Congress candidate, according to the CEC guideline, is one who is an active

Congress worker with two years standing as primary member. But the Congress President has

the authority to relax the terms of two years primary membership in suitable cases. The

relaxation of this condition is not only applicable in case of persons with outstanding ability

whose service may be needed for the country but also in case of those members of political

groups or parties which have recently joined the Congress. There are other conditions that

the applicant must fulfill. Applicant must be devoted to the party’s policy, has demonstrated

his capacity to support party interest and represents groups that the party wishes to attract into

its ranks.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set up a central election committee to oversee the process

of candidate selection. The members of this committee are usually nominated by the party

chief. Like the Congress, securitizing the applications of the aspirant candidates party

committee at the constituency level first prepare a panel and then send it to the Central

election Committee for final selection. The Committee takes the final decision considering

the candidate’s loyalty to party, image and probability of winning the election. Some times

the committee consults and discusses with the provincial leaders to ensure participation of

different factions of the party and society.

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) set up a Candidate Selection Committee (CSC) for the

purpose of selection of candidate for the election of the Constituent Assembly. Ram Bahadur

Thapa ‘Badal’, secretariat member of the central committee, was appointed as the coordinator

of this selection committee. The main task of this committee was to select candidates on the

basis of the proportional representation of caste, class, region and gender for the proportional

representation. The committee also selected candidates for the single member district. In

choosing the candidates for the PR list, political parties follow the quota system framed by

the Election Commission.15 In the beginning of the selection process, the CSC sent a circular

14 De Souza, Peter Ronald, India’s Political Parties, New Delhi: 2006, pp.240-53. 15 According to the Constituent Assembly Members Election Act, 2007, candidate lists submitted by political parties for the Proportional Representation election must cover at least 10% of the seats to be elected under the Proportional Representation system i.e. there must be at least 34 candidates submitted on a candidate list. The

to the constituency or district level party committee to recommend three or four persons for

consideration. Finally candidates were chosen by the CSC from the panel made by the local

party committee. With regards to the selection of candidates, it was claimed by Thapa that

their main consideration was commitment towards party. For the NC and other parties

popularity in the constituency and possibility winning election were also considered while the

selection was made. The party leaders who were found difficult to win popular elections, but

were considered important for the party, were put in the party list.

Though the Political Parties Act 2002 stipulates that the candidates for the parliamentary

election will be selected through democratic process but the parties in Pakistan did not follow

such rule for selecting party candidates for the last general election. Traditionally parties set

up a committee with the top party leaders who are well connected to the constituency. The

committee makes recommendations to the party chief whose decision is final.

To sum up, in choosing the candidates for the parliamentary elections, political parties in

South Asia do not follow any democratic methods that practiced in the developed

democracies like the USA, UK and Germany. Though the parties appoint a select committee

for this purpose but the party chief takes the final decision. Consultations with party top

leaders at various levels take place to ensure participation of different fractions of the party.

During the process of selecting candidates the party leaders first consider the winnability of a

candidate which in turns depends on the candidate’s connection to the constituency, the social

standing, the financial capacity and the public image. Following other factors are also

considered important: candidate’s position in the party, length of party life and relationship

with top brass party leaders.

candidate lists are also required to consist of at least one-third women.

CHAPTER III

Political Parties in Bangladesh: Structure and Procedures

Political parties in Bangladesh have distinct characteristics in terms of their internal structure,

ideology and functioning. Some of the parties are democratic and liberal; some parties are

social revolutionary while some others stand for establishing Islamic sharia law. All parties

are not made from the same mould. Some of the parties originated during the British colonial

period and led the independent movements while some parties were established in the course

of legitimacy of military regime. Since the independence, Bangladesh has shifted from one

system to another. The year between 1972 and 1975 was a period of the beginning of

parliamentary democracy with an authoritarian party rule. The years between 1975 and 1990

were marked by a continuous power struggle within the army. Military rulers consolidated

their positions by creating new political parties and holding national elections.16 During this

period undemocratic practices and political stalemate weakened the growth of party system.

Since the restoration of parliamentary form of democracy in 1991, the donor agencies, the

civil society and the media have given emphasis for democratizing the political parties. This

chapter intends to analyze legal framework, the internal party structure and the procedure,

ideology, support base and fund management which have a functional link to the process of

candidate selection.

Legal Framework

In many democracies of the globe political parties are regulated by the political party law and

the electoral law. These laws or acts are enacted by the government to determine what

constitutes to regulate the formation and the activities of the political parties. In many

countries independent election commissions are established with oversight authority so that

commission can inflict stringent regulations and checks on parties to enhance transparency

and accountability within the party system. For example, political parties in Germany

according to the Article 21 of the Basic Law must be organized through democratic norms

and practice. Similarly, political parties in Thailand are required by election law to have

16 Mitra, Subrata K. and Enskat, Mike, “Introduction’’, in Mitra, Subrata K. and Enskat (ed.), op cit., pp.20-21.

internal elections for party posts and policies. According to this law parliamentarians who

feel they are the victims of “undemocratic” party decisions have the opportunity to file an

appeal to the Constitutional Court.17 In many countries like the USA, Germany, France, India

Norway and the UK party law regulate the raising and spending of party funds. The

procedure for raising and spending party fund is detail laid down in the party constitution.

Political parties are legally binding for making annual audits party fund and financial reports

make available to the public in order to enhance financial transparency and accountability.

As there was no binding for the political parties to be registered, it is really hard to work out

the actual number of parties in Bangladesh. Amending ‘the Representation of the People

Order (RPO)’ the Bangladesh Election Commission issued a rule name ‘Registration of

Political Parties Rules’ in 2001. According to registration rules political parties who are

intend to participate in the election must be registered to the election commission. The

criteria and conditions for the registration of the political parties are detail laid down in the

Registration of Political Parties Rules. Numbers of changes have been made in the draft

proposal discussing with 16 political parties. To meet the criteria set down by the amended

RPO, most of the political parties will have to amend their constitutions. The conditions for

registration include, among others, the parties will have to submit a draft party constitution

for the registration but they have to submit a ratified constitution to the Election Commission

within six months from the first sitting of the ninth parliament. Among the other conditions,

minor parties, who have never won any parliamentary seat since 1972, will have to prove that

they have a functional central office with a committee and branch offices in at least 10

districts and 50 Upazilas or metropolitan cities to be qualified for registration. The rules also

make mandatory for the political parties to detach their associate organizations (i.e students,

workers and professional fronts) from the parent organization and dissolved overseas

organizations.18

17 The 1997 Thai Constitution introduced new election laws, under the Organic Law on Elections. For details: Thornton, Laura L. , “Political Party Strategies to Combat Corruption (executive summary)”, The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), p.5, 2001.

18 The Daily Star, Dhaka, 12 October 20

Party Structure and Leadership Selection

Like other organizations, political parties are pyramidal in structure. The party chief called

president or chairperson stands in the top and exercises control over those units lower down

pyramid. The parties where power and responsibilities are delegated from top to downward

through a series of stratified layers of committees and exercised it in a democratic manner can

be identified as democratic. Though party chief attains political power through democratic

method, exercises it in authoritarian and totalitarian manner is referred as authoritarian. In an

authoritarian party structure, power and authority are centralized to the party chief and s/he

enjoys sole authority to nominate candidate for the national elections, determines party

manifesto and other issues. If the parties are not organized through democratic process and

leaders and members do not believe in democratic culture it must be adversely affected the

development of democracy. It is therefore argued that if the parties are internally democratic

they can enhance a necessary viable democratic culture within the party as well as society at

large.19 It means that the party which internally practices democracy has the opportunity to

make some contributions towards building a democratic society.

Party structure is generally paramedical, major parties include AL, BNP, JP and JIB are

comprised following the government administrative hierarchy, the national or central

committee is the pivot of the structure and then they have divisional, district, Upzila (Sub-

district), Union and village committees. At the municipal and city level they have municipal/

city council and municipal/city word committees. All parties have their sister organizations

such student, labour, employees, women and professional groups. Though they have their

own constitution and manifestoes, they are operated under the discipline of the main party.

The political parties in Bangladesh (include AL, BNP, JP, JIB and CPB) have written rules

and regulations that define the way they are structured and govern their internal functioning.

Though democratic rules are provided in their constitution for the purpose of the selection of

their leaders and candidates, actual practice needs to be examined to analyze the inner party

democracy in Bangladesh.

Article 8(KA) of the BNP’s constitution prescribes that the BNP chairperson will be elected

by direct vote of the members of the National Council for a term of two years and the

19 Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (2004) Institutional Development Handbook: A Framework for Democratic Party-Building. The Hague: NIMD.

chairperson can be removed if two thirds of the national council demands so and three fourths

of the national council votes in favor of this demand. Although in theoretically National

Standing Committee (NSC) is the most powerful authority in the party but in practice

chairperson exercise all power.

BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia entered into politics after the death of her husband and

became vice-president in 1983 and president in 1984. However, party chairperson is to be

elected by the party council but the elections have never been held in the BNP last thirteen

years. BNP’s former secretary general Abdul Manan Bhuian said in an interview that they did

not fell necessity for holding the council, as they did not want to change the leadership.20 As

shown in the following table ‘National Standing Committee’ is the highest policy making

body in the BNP consisted of 15 members nominated by the chairperson. To control and

coordinate the duties and responsibilities of party’s committees at various levels BNP has a

National Executive Committee with 251 members. Most of the positions of the party central

committee as well as branches and affiliated bodies were filled through appointment or

nomination by them or through their trusted ministers and members of parliament.

According the AL constitution, including the party president, presidium members,

organizing secretary and treasure, all office bearers are to be elected to their posts by the

councilors at the triennial council meeting. Although the AL holds its council meeting at

very three years, no one contests for the post of party president while other positions were

filled through elections. According to the AL’s constitution, the presidium (15 members)

enjoys supreme power but in theoretically party president’s decision is final. Most of the

presidium leaders have a tendency to show their loyalty to the party president. After the

presidium the Central Council (consisted of 73 members including the party president,

members of the presidium, the general secretary, secretaries, treasurer and 26 members

appointed by the party president in consultation with presidium members) is however

supreme decision making body it depends on the party president.

The fourth largest party of the country is Jatya Party (JP). Following the footsteps of Gen.

Ziaur Rahman, the JP was established by former President Gen. H.M. Ershad to civilianize

his military rule. In accordance with the provisions of the party constitution, the JP Chairman

20 New Age, September 4, 2006.

completely dominates the decision making process of his party. Although central committee

is the supreme policy making body, it mostly work under the direction of the party chairman.

According o Article 46 of the JP’s constitution, party chairman has absolute power to form,

suspend or abolish committees at all levels. The chairman also has absolute power to appoint

anyone to any post or suspend anyone from any post, with the power to replace any official of

the party with any person of his choice. He also enjoys absolute power of interpreting the

constitution. Therefore, Kohanerc noted that the formal rules establish a ‘single man’

dictatorship in the JP.21

Table 3.1: Highest Executive Bodies of the Major Political Parties in Bangladesh

Party Highest executive body Method of selection

BNP National Standing Committee All (15) members are nominated by the

chairperson.

AL Central Council Comprised of 73 members. Of them 26

members are appointed by the party

president in consultation with other office

bearers.

JIB Central majils-e-sura Elected by the Rokons.

JP Central Working Committee Members are elected by the council

Source: Compiled by the author based on the study of Political Parties in South Asia: The Challenge of Change, Stockholm, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral assistance (IDEA), Sweden, 2007.

The JIB is headed by Amir-e-Jamat who is elected for three-year term by the direct secret

ballot of the rokons. It is worth mentioning that Central majils-e-sura members first elect a

three-member panel for the Amir-e-Jamat. If the he is unable to carry out his duties for more

than six months, he will consult with the central work council and select one person from the

Naib-e- Amirs and made him the temporary Acting Amir. Within six months the Acting

Amir will arrange for elections for a new Amir for the remaining period. But the majils-e-

sura can postponed the election for a reasonable period and extend the term of the Acting

Amir, but this period cannot exceed the time limit for the normal election period.

21 Kochanek, S.A. (2000), “Governance, Patronage politics, and democratic transition in Bangladesh”, Asian Survey, Vol. 34, No.11, pp.530-550.

The political parties in Bangladesh adopted many democratic principles in their constitutions

but these are not properly followed. For example, in the last several years the BNP and the

JP did not call any council for electing their party chairperson. Although the AL called its

council meetings in every three years, no one contests for the post of the party president. The

leadership of the two major parties-BNP and AL is routinely passed on to Begum Khaleda

Zia, widow of late President Ziaur Rahman and Sheikh Hsina, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman. It is observed that the BNP, the AL and the JP are highly personalized and

centralized. The entire party including the parliamentary wing revolves around the party

cheif. Parties have to be treated by founders or their successors as their personal property,

like business or companies.22

Although, all political parties have provisions in their constitutions to hold the party chief

accountable to the party members, but this provision has never been applied. Since power is

centralized to the party chief, there is a little chance for disagreeing or raising question about

the decisions taken by the party chairperson or president. If some one oppose to the decision

party chairperson can take disciplinary action against him/her. Such insecurity some times

causes in a party split or in some members leaving the party join to another. 23

Situation is different in other parties where party positions are filled according to the rank and

file. For example, the leaders of the JIB and the CPB are elected in accordance with

respective party constitutions. The leaders of the affiliated organizations of these parties are

also elected by the members of the respective organization.

All parties have provisions in their constitution to ensure party accountability. If any

member or leader violates party constitution or discipline party can take disciplinary action

against him/her. According to the party constitution party chairperson and specific

committee can take disciplinary action against the party man. However, in recent years issue

of disciplinary action has become a more serious problem. It has been observed that the

leaders or members who raised questions against decisions of the party chairperson are

expelled from the party in the name of ‘party discipline’. In the two major parties, party

chiefs control, supervise and coordinate all the activities of the party. However, they in turn

22 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral assistance (IDEA), op cit., p.107.23 Ibid., p.101.

accountable to the national executive or working council, but these committees cannot and

do not take stand against decision taken by the party chief. They act as a rubber stamp or ex

post facto validation to the decision taken by the party chief.24

Ideology

Parties in Bangladesh cannot be distinguished on the ideological lines as ‘centre’ ‘right’ or

‘left’ continuum usually applied in the Western democracies. However, some scholars

located the parties following the Western continuum. For example, the BNP and the JP are

identified as centre-right party while the AL is referred as centre-left party. Ideology can be

examined from the election manifesto. In the post-1990s parliamentary lections, the Awami

League called for a mixed economy and a secular orientation, while the BNP advocated a

more Islamic outlook, introduced the policy of economic liberalization and privatized some

state-owned enterprises. The basic ideologies of the JP are mostly similar to those of the

BNP. The JP led by the former President Gen. H.M. Ershad supported Bangladeshi

nationalism, free economy and presidential form of government. While Gen. Ersahd was in

state power Islam was declared as state religion in the Constitution through the Eighth

Amendment. In the election manifestos, JP advocated to reforms the existing laws in line

with the principles of the Quoran and Sunnah but they claimed that they intended to protect

the rights of all religious groups.

JIB is a pro-Islamic party committed for establishing Islamic ideology in to the state system.

It was originally established in Lahore in 1941. The JIB was constitutionally (Article 38)

banned along with other three Islamic political parties in 1972 because of its anti-independent

movement role. It is worth mentioning that during the liberation war the JIB supported the

Pakistani army and participated in many killings. The JIB appeared in politics publicly in

1979 under the Political Parties Regulation Act, 1976.

In the election campaign, party leaders use various terms such as nationalist, democratic,

secular, socialist, religious and liberal to describe their parties. But most of them do not have

well articulated ideology. It is worth mentioning that although JIB believed in different

ideology they worked with both AL and BNP. It is observed that the major parties- BNP,

24 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral assistance (IDEA), op cit., p.101.

AL, JP and JIB kept their ideology flexible for winning the elections. In the recent past

elections ‘issues’ and ‘money’ play more important role than ideology and program.

Table 3.2: Profiles of Major Political Parties in Bangladesh

Party(year of foundation)

Self-description Support basis

BNP (1978)

Nationalist, democratic and liberal

All sections and classes of people, but get greater support from religious, military

and business group

AL(1949)

Liberal, democratic, secular and nationalist

All groups of people, including ethnic and minorities

JIB(1979)

Islamic and conservative but pragmatic

Religious and business group

JP(Ershad)(1986)

Nationalist, believed in Islamic Shariah Laws

All sections and classes of people but business group and a section of people

benefited from Ershad government

CPB(1948)

Left, socialist Working class and oppressed people

Source: Compiled by the author based on the study of Political Parties in South Asia: The Challenge of Change, Stockholm, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral assistance (IDEA), Sweden, 2007.

Support Base

Political parties in Bangladesh are mass parties in nature. Membership is open to all and any

one can join any political party. Although, JIB defines themselves as mass party, they are

generally called cadre party and membership is only open for the Muslims. The JIB’s

constitution stipulated that any mentally stable man or women who regularly performs faraz

(obligatory works) and wajib (obligatory works of lesser importance) of sarait can apply for

the membership. It means that Muslims who follow the Islamic norms only can be qualified

for the membership. But the other parties are secular and pluralistic.

Although, the BNP, the AL and the JP drew their workers and supporters from all strata of

society, retired civil-military bureaucrats and business group are associated with BNP and JP

while ethnic and minority groups work in favor of the AL while the JIB relies on the section

of religious peoples aspirant to see the Islamic ideology in the state principle. Two major

parties do not have any statistics about their membership strength and they do not make any

campaign or program for collecting the membership. However, the JIB does not disclose

their membership strength, but they have different kind of programs for collecting members.

Fund Management

Securitization of raising and spending party fund is increasingly gaining attention in party

research. Because parties without financial transparency have greater chance to impede to

the financial discipline of the state. In several reports featured by the TIB, NDI, IDEA and

other organizations political parties in Bangladesh are blamed for selling nomination and

political leaders including the parliamentarians are accused for large scale corruption. In this

circumstance, following the footsteps of other countries, development agencies are now

emphasizing in Bangladesh to enact rules and regulations for ensuring party financial

accountability.

Political parties in Bangladesh raise fund for maintaining party offices, utility services,

publicity and campaigning from the donation of party members, ministers, parliamentarians

and well wishers. But it is alleged that businessmen and industrialists including the bank

defaulters are the major contributors of party fund. Way of raising fund and spending is

almost similar of the major two parties. Industrialist, business men, parliamentarians,

ministers and party leaders are the major contributors. It has been reported that on an

average BNP spent yearly TK. 80 million and AL spent yearly Tk. 120 million for

maintaining their offices and organizing program including conference, meeting, rally and

etc. Including the party chief central leaders, parliamentarians and ministers contribute 20 to

25 percent of the total expenses and remaining fund is collected from the donation of

businessmen and industrialists. They also collect fund from their well wishers and

parliamentarians for organizing special programs like death anniversary of their former

leaders, conference, rally and hortal. Both AL and BNP disbursed TK. 5, 00,000 to 6, 00,000

lacks to their students’ wing for organizing their own programs. Poor and disable dedicated

party workers also receive donation from their parties. It is also observed that these two

major parties while they were in state power collected fund by granting development

projects and awarding regulatory approvals. Ministers, MPs and senior party leaders

collected money from different ways for their election expenses.

BNP has 5/6 accounts in different commercial banks. According to the party constitution, the

party treasurer is responsible to collect and maintain the accounts of the party funds.

Constitution also makes sure that bank account/s will be jointly operated by the signatures of

any two of the following three -- Chairperson, Treasurer and General Secretary, but the

Treasurer's signature must be there and there must an audit of the party funds every year. But

it is reported that last fifteen years BNP did not submit any audit report and party treasure

neither signed in any bank check last five years nor render his authority to any other person.

Because of his illness he could not go to the party office last five years. The question is who

operates party fund in the absence of the treasurer.

AL operates three accounts in two commercial banks (Mercantile Bank and United

Commercial Bank) in the joint name of party president, general secretary and the treasurer.

Party constitution stipulates that all fees and donations and income and expenditure of all

level of units must be kept in any scheduled bank and the funds must be audited. One daily

reported that party fund is audited regularly prior to the council meeting while another daily

news paper claims that they yet do not appoint any professional audit firm to scrutiny their

accounts. But both make sure that party treasurer does not actually operate party accounts. He

signs all checks at a time and keeps them to the party presidents so that she can spent money

as she needs.

Unlike the two major parties, JIB is seen more transparent in financial affairs. It is observed

that membership fee is the major source of their fund. According to the party constitution,

every member deposit 5 to 10 percent of their monthly income to the party fund. As it is

calculated, JIB has 52, 000 members of them 22, 000 Rokon and 30,000 advanced members

(going to be Rokon). They regularly contribute to the party fund except the insolvent or poor

members. Donation of the well wishers and like minded businessmen-industrialists from

home and abroad is another source of income. JIB yearly received TK.300 million from their

members as membership fee and Tk. 10 million from well the wishers and their members

settled in abroad. JIB members also contribute to party jakat fund for helping and

rehabilitating the poor party members. It is reported that their yearly expenses is bellow than

their yearly membership fees. Organizing seminar, meeting, conference, maintaining party

office including office rent, staff salary, vehicles, telephone and electricity bills are the major

heads of expenses.

Although, donation is one of the major source of party funding in Bangladesh but donations

are made public. Political parties according to their constitution are obliged to audit their

financial activities, but no party follow this rule properly. The two major parties do not make

any report on financial affairs. Although, party treasurer is responsible to operate party fund

but they do not have chance to perform their duties properly. Either party chief or his/her

nominated person operates party fund. Unlike the two major parties, the JIB operates and

maintains party fund according to party constitution.

It is generally agreed that irregular party funding is widespread where the overseeing

mechanism is weak. Donor agencies including the World Bank and international NGOs

proposed several mechanisms for bringing transparency to the party fund.  The mechanisms

proposed include the public disclosure of all donations and sources of party funding and ban

on the use of state resources for party purposes. They suggested to enact laws regarding

receiving donation and spending on elections, by party nominees and the parties themselves.

Some countries have specific rules about securitizing and monitoring party fund. In the

developed democracies all transactions of the party are disclosed to the public through

printing and electronic media. However, the Bangladesh Election Commission makes it

mandatory for the candidates to disclose their financial information but there is no law

governing the party fund and the parties do not feel it necessary to disclose party fund to the

public. After the incident of 1/11, civil society, media, donor agencies and even some

political leaders demand to disclose financial affairs on the website of the party for ensuring

accountability and transparency.

Public Access to Party Information

For strengthening inner-party democracy party deliberation process must be transparent and

people should have access to information. Parties in Bangladesh maintain a contact with their

members though varying degrees. Major parties publish papers and bulletins as well as

maintain a website to keep closer the party members and the public with the party policy and

programs. Party members who are interested can contact to the party central leaders through

their local leaders. Though all parties do not hold their national convention regularly, the

party leaders visit local party offices and hold meetings with their members in special

occasion particularly prior to the election and movement. In such meetings party members

can express ideas and concerns.

Party convention or council is one of the main ways to contact party members. Although, all

parties have provisions in their constitutions to hold party convention at regular basis, but the

BNP did not call any council last fifteen years. Similarly the JP did not call their party

convention regularly. The AL and the JIB hold their party convention regularly. It has been

observed that in the AL party convention members expressed their views and opinion

vigorously. Most the members who had a chance to speak at this meeting highly criticized

their central as well as local leaders.

Dilemma of Party Reform

Since the independence, Bangladesh has shifted from one system to another. The year

between 1972 and 1975 was a period of the beginning of parliamentary democracy with an

authoritarian party rule. The years between 1975 and 1990 were marked by a continuous

power struggle within the army. Military rulers consolidated their positions by creating new

political parties and holding national elections.25 Despite the restoration of parliamentary

form of democracy in 1990s the authoritarian tendencies on the part of the ruling party and

the agitational politics of the opposition resulting unstable political system.26 Therefore,

donor agencies, civil society and media are giving emphasis for ensuring accountability and

transparency in political parties. It gets momentum in 2007 when the military backed Non-

Party Caretaker Government in many ways forced the political parties to reform their

organizational structures.

The BNP’s Secretary General, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, first disclosed a set of party reform

proposals in mid June 2008 aimed democratization of the party leadership. As a section of

leaders of the BNP, the AL presidium members Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, and Suranjit

Sengupta also come to the public with separate reform proposals. Following their footsteps

the JP formed a sub-committee to bring changes to its constitution. Though they first

25 Mitra, Subrata K. and Enskat, Mike, “Introduction’’, in Mitra, Subrata K. and Enskat (ed.), op cit., pp.20-21.

26 Suri, K.C. et. al, op cit, pp.42-45.

proposed for curbing the authority of the party chairman/president but they came back to their

previous position arguing in favor of their party chief.

CHAPTER IV

Candidate Selection Process in Bangladesh

There is significant variation among political parties as to which actors choose

candidates for the parliament and what methods they employ to do

so. This chapter intends to examine how the political parties in Bangladesh select their

candidates for the parliamentary elections and who are involved in this process. This study

also identifies the factors that have considerable influence in selecting the party candidates.

With necessary illustrations the present chapter focuses on the social standing of the

candidates who were selected by the party in power for the last parliamentary election held in

2009.

Legal Framework

Bangladesh has a unicameral legislature consisted of 300 members elected through a first-

past-the-post system in single-member constituencies and 45 women members selected by

the parties based on their share of seats in the legislature. The Bangladesh Constitution does

not specify the basic type of electoral law for selecting the parliamentary candidates. The

Constitution makes no reference to political parties, other than mentioning parties in the

context of parliamentary functions. A significant change has been made in the

‘Representation of the People Order’ to ensure free and fair election. The ‘Representation of

the People Order 1972’ amended in 2008 incorporating some new provisions. The new laws

have made registration with the EC mandatory for a political party willing to participate in

parliamentary polls. Another new provision is also added in the RPO seeking to democratize

the candidate selection process. In accordance with the provision of RPO, political parties are

not allowed to nominate candidates for the parliamentary elections without having grassroots

committees' recommendations in this regard. Members of ward, union, thana, upazila and

district committees of a party have to prepare jointly panels of prospective candidates for the

constituencies concerned. The candidates will be finally selected by the party central

committee or parliamentary board from the panel made by prepared by their grassroots

committees. According to the RPO provision, parties cannot pick contenders from the

parliamentary constituencies without getting proposals from the grassroots leaders. Including

two BNP and AL all major parties intended to participate in the parliamentary election

incorporated the mandatory RPO provision in their constitution to qualify for registration

with the Election Commission. Finally the electoral laws regarding nomination of candidates

were not implemented in the last parliamentary election held in January 2009. The BNP and

JP selected the candidates following their traditional procedures meanwhile the Awami

League (AL) selected almost all its candidates from grassroots panels.

Who Makes the Selection?

Like the Indian National Congress or the BJP, political parties in Bangladesh set up a central

selection committee called ‘Parliamentary Board’ to select the candidates for the

parliamentary election. This board performs as a gatekeeper of candidate selection. For

example, the AL constitution in its Article 27 makes it mandatory for the party to set up a

Parliamentary Board to supervise the selection process. The district or constituency level

party committee makes a panel scrutinizing the applications of the aspirant candidates the

final decision takes the Parliamentary Board. The board has eleven members including the

party president, general secretary and the deputy leader of AL’s parliamentary party are the

members of the board by virtue of their offices and other members are elected by the council

from among the AL Council members. This parliamentary board is however given all

authority to select candidates; the party chief takes the final decision.

In line with the provision of the BNP’s constitution, a parliamentary board is appointed under

the leadership of the party chairperson. The party’s standing committee members and in the

selection of a candidate for particular district, the president of the district committee, three

vice-presidents and general secretary are appointed as members for that meeting. The

parliamentary board enjoys supreme authority to select any person from the list sent by the

grass root committee. The board can also nominate any persons outside the list if s/he is

important for the party. Although, parliamentary board is constitutionally supreme decision

making body, BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary President Traeq Zia, son of Begum Khleda Zia,

had considerable influence in selecting candidates for the eighth parliamentary election. In

selecting the candidates for the ninth parliamentary election, Tareq Zia could not play any

rule. It is said that the military backed NCG forced him to leave the country in the name of

medical treatment. In his absence a group party leaders who were to close party chief

supervised the candidate selection process.

Like the two major parties, JP also has a parliamentary board with eleven members. Party

chairman acts as chairman of the PB and general secretary is the ex-officio secretary of the

PB. Other nine members are selected by the party chairman. Although PB is constitutionally

empowered to select the candidates, but in practice party chairman chose the candidates, PB

formally approves his decisions only. Article 25 of the JP constitution asserted that the party

chairman will chose parliamentary leader, deputy leader, chief whip and whip from the

reliable members of the JP parliamentary party and they will work in the parliament

consulting with the party chairman. Article 25(4) makes it mandatory for the members of the

JP parliamentary party to comply with the direction of the party chairman. Such

constitutional provisions authorized the party chairman to control parliamentarians tightly.

Selection Process

The party first appoints a parliamentary board in according to the provision of the party

constitution. The parliamentary board selects the candidates through interviews. It is

observed that aspirants were appeared to the parliamentary board for a formal interview but

there was no written procedure or grading system for selecting candidates. The parliamentary

board organized selected the candidates after an instant evaluation. During the interviews PB

evaluates the applications submitted by the aspirant candidates. Selection process begins with

collecting the application from the party office. Before the election, aspirant candidates first

have to buy a prescribed nomination application form from the party central office and to

submit it to the party office within a specific date with detailed particulars. The parliamentary

board evaluates the applications during the interview of the nomination seekers.

Parliamentary board makes a rank order of the nomination seekers evaluating their qualities,

previous parliaments experience, financial capacity, service and loyalty to the party,

popularity and possibility to win the election. The parliamentary board collects the necessary

information about the candidates from the local party office bearers. Both the BNP and AL

send a survey team to the constituency to collect information and assess party strength. After

assessing all of these factors the parliamentary board finally declares the candidature. For the

first time the AL Parliamentary Board selected candidates based on the recommendations

made by the grassroots level committees. Selected candidates receive a formal nomination

letter from the parliamentary board along with the signature of the party chief. The candidates

then submit a copy of the party nomination to the district's Returning Officer to inform that

his party has given him/her the nomination for allocation of the party's polls symbol.

Both the BNP and the AL start their candidate selection process with selling application form

from their central party office. In the last ninth parliamentary election, the AL started the

three-day sale of nomination papers on November 5 in the morning with selling a form for

AL chief Sheikh Hasina. Since morning nomination aspirants from across the country started

coming to the AL central office accompanied by their supporters. They submitted their

application form to the party’s central office by 5:00pm on November 7. The central office

sent a copy of the application form to the presidents and general secretaries of their respective

upazila or thana units. The local-level leaders prepared a panel of maximum five prospective

nominees in extended unit meetings and sent their names to the AL parliamentary board by

November 9. The PB evaluated the applications during the interviews and selected the

candidates from the panel sent by the local party office. From the survey of 150 constituency

candidate panel lists it is calculated that the PB selected 30 candidates ignoring the list

prepared by the grassroots level committees. During the selection of candidates the

supporters of the leaders who were denied nomination went out on demonstrations in protest

as their candidates were not nominated for the election. The following Table 4.1 shows that

most of the candidates (80%) nominated by the AL were recommended by the grassroots

level party committees. Only 30% candidates were selected whose name were not in the

panel sent by the local level party committees and most of them were elected to the

parliament.

Comparatively the BNP started their candidate selection process later than the AL. They

started sale of nomination forms on November 25 with party leaders and three days later

completed interview of all those seeking its nominations but did not disclose names of the

candidates to avoid intra-party rift. The BNP did not send the applications to the local level

party committees for their opinion. The PB collected necessary information by using

preliminary reports from its internal candidate evaluations team and independent surveys.

The Table 3.1 shows that the highest numbers of application forms were sold by the BNP

amid a wide criticism against the party leaders for amassing wealth illegally.

Table: 4.1 Candidates Selected by the AL for the Election 2008

Party announces the date for collecting and submitting the application form

Aspirant Candidates collect the application form and submit it to the party office.

Grassroots level party committee makes a panel from the name of aspirant candidates

and submits it to the party central office.

PB finally declares candidature and gives nomination through a formal letter.

PB takes an interview of individual nomination seekers and evaluates their

application form.

PB sends the copies of the applications to the grassroots committee.

Fig.4.1: Party Candidate Selection Process

Source: Adopted by the Author

Panel Position Nominated Elected Not Elected

First 84 78 6

Second 17 17 0

Third 10 10 0

Fourth 7 6 1

Fifth and bellow 2 0 2

Out of List 30 26 4

Total 150 137 13

Noted: Data is calculated on 150 seats on the basis of purposive sampling. Source: Author

Table: 4.2 No. of Candidates Selected by the BNP and the AL for the Election 2008

Application form Sold

Application form Submitted

NominatedFor Constituencies

BNP AL BNP AL BNP AL

Dhaka 1800 2301 1200 90 88

Chittagong 500 443 275 54 55

Sylhet 55 95 40 17 18

Rajshahi 370 452 276 56 55

Barisal 300 206 150 20 19

Khulna 155 261 128 25 34

Total 3180 2758 2069 262 269

Source: Compiled by the Author based on news papers reports.

Who Got the Nomination?

The ninth parliamentary election was held on December 29, 2008 under the military backed

Neutral Caretaker Government (NCG). In this election, a total of 2,460 nomination papers

were filed by contestants nominated by 39 political parties and 391 independent candidates.

Finally 1555 candidates contested for 299 general seats of them 58 were female candidates.

The Bangladesh Awami league (AL) put up 269 candidates and distributed rest of the seats to

its allies meanwhile the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) contested in this election making

alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JIB), the Bangladesh Jatiya Party (JP) and the

Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ). The both alliances led by BNP put up candidates in this election with

mutual understanding and contested with the same symbol but keeping their own party

manifesto. Among the 300 constituencies highest number of nominations were filed (235) for

the eights constituencies of Dhaka Metropolitan city.

Like the previous parliamentary elections, most of the candidates of the ninth parliamentary

elections were business-industrialists. Highest number of candidates of such profession

contested in the ninth parliamentary election with the ticket of the BNP. Since 1975 both

civil-military government offered various incentives to enrich the wealth of the business-

industrialist class and they in turn used their wealth to capture political power and use it for

their further enrichment.

As the major parties including the AL, the BNP and the JP preferred to select moneyed men

to contest in election many local levels party leaders and activists did not get the party

nomination. During the selection candidates parties mainly made emphasis on winability of

the aspirant candidates rather than their political experiences and seniority. A prominent

journalist of the country observed that political parties sell nominations to financially affluent

people or businessmen who are contributing huge amounts of money to get nomination

without having any political background.27

Traditionally, the Bangladesh parliament was dominated by the members who had served

their parties for a long time and acquired experience in professional politics. But the number

of professional politicians has been gradually declining in the JS since 1975. Military

27 Karim, Rezaul (2004), “Party Nomination on Sale”, The Daily Star, 13th Anniversary issue, December, 2004.

intervation and rise of business industrial class in politics weakened their positions. As shown

in the Table 4.3 only few candidates were politicians by profession.

Table 4.3 Professional Background of the Candidates of the Election 2008

Profession BNP AL JP JIB

Business 157 114 36 15Law 20 36 8 1Military Bureaucrats 10 15 1 -Civil Bureaucrats 20 17 3 -Doctor, Eng and others 11 30 6 10Politicians 4 5 2 2Agriculture 18 23 2 6Others 16 5 3 4Total 256 245 61 38

Source: compiled by the researcher based on reports published in various national dailies and magazines.

Over the last two decades, civil and military bureaucrats appear as the dominating force in

politics. Military intervention in politics in 1975 and onwards encouraged them to enter the

political arena either after finishing their tenure or by resigning from their profession. The

Table 4.3 shows that both AL and BNP nominated a large of candidates who were retired

civil bureaucrats. Like the civil bureaucrats retired military officers is also dominating group

in the party. This time large number of former military officers (40 candidates) was

nominated by the major political parties including the BNP, the AL and the JP while 23

former military officers were nominated for the 8th parliamentary elections. It is worth

mentioning that the JIB did not nominate any candidate of such profession to contest the

ninth parliamentary election. The Table 4.3 shows that highest numbers of retired military

officers were nominated by the AL. AL led 14 party alliances nominated 16 retired army

officers for 18 constituencies while the BNP nominated 10 former army officers for 10

constituencies. Among the former military bureaucrat candidates, Gen. H. M. Ershad was

nominated for three constituencies. Initially the BNP and the AL nominated 17 candidates

each and other parties nominated 15 candidates of such profession for 54 constituencies. The

Liberal Democratic Party nominated two retired military officials for three constituencies and

the Bangladesh Kalyan Party nominated two retired army officers including the party

chairman for four constituencies. In the 2001 general elections, major political parties

nominated at least 23 former army officers. Of them, the BNP nominated 13 candidates,

Awami League 8, Jatiya Party 4 and Jamaat-e-Islami 1. In the suspended 2007 general

elections, the parties nominated at least 18 candidates. Of them, the BNP nominated 11

candidates, Awami League 5 and Jatiya Party nominated 2 candidates.

Table 4.4 Women Candidates Selected by the Parties for the Elections (1991-2008)

Party Contested Elected

No. of Seats No. of Candidates No. of Seats No. of Candidates

AL 20 18 18 16

BNP 15 13 5 3

JP 2 1 - -

JIB - - - -

Others 26 25 - -

Total 62 58 23 19

Source: Compiled by the author based on reports published in various national dailies and weeklies.

Though the number of women candidates in comparison with the number for the last three

parliamentary elections has been increased, women are still minority in the parliament. In the

seventh parliamentary election, the parties nominated 36 female candidates for 48 general

seats and in the eighth parliamentary election 38 female candidates contested for 46 general

seats. The Table 4.4 shows that the highest number female candidates were selected for the

ninth parliamentary election. Altogether 62 female candidates were selected by the parties for

58 general seats. The parties have nominated 25 of their leaders including the party chiefs and

others were either wives or daughters of party leaders who had been convicted under the

Emergency Power. For example, the BNP selected eleven female candidates for the

constituencies of their convicted husbands.  Farida Akhter of the Ubinig (a non-government

organization) criticized the parties for nominating women candidates, in many cases, ‘only to

guard the constituencies of ineligible male leaders.’28  

Factors Influenced the Candidate Selection

There are several factors that have considerable influence in the selection of party candidates.

During the process of selecting candidates following factors appeared to be important:

28 New Age,

Parties in Bangladesh first considered the candidate’s ability to win the election. This in turn

depends upon the candidate’s image in the constituency, his/her connection with the local

elites, ability to influence the voters and ability to bear the high election expenses. As the

political parties gave maximum emphasis on 'seat politics' the candidates who have such

capacity were nominated by the parties for the election.

The candidates who have contribution to the party and have a relationship with high-level

leaders were also preferred in selecting the candidates. More important the candidates who

are close to the party chief or relatives were selected as the party nominee. In the

The ninth parliamentary election held in a different background. As discussed earlier, military

backed interim government forced the party leaders to go against their party chiefs. In this

circumstance, parties nominated candidates based on actions of candidates before and after

the 1/11 changeover. Many top ranking leaders who came with strong backing of military

backed interim government for party reform were not given nomination for the last

parliamentary election. Though AL selected some reformist leaders as their nominees the

BNP chairperson was very much against selecting them for the parliamentary election. 

Mononoyan Banijya

However, political parties in Bangladesh have PB and institutional procedure for selecting

candidates for the parliamentary elections, but practically they do not exercise a democratic

selection procedure. It is observed that aspirants are appeared to the PB for a formal interview

but there is no written procedure or grading system for selecting candidates. The PB

organizes an ostensible interview board and after an instant evaluation they offer the

nomination, which is undemocratic.29 In practice, party chief can award nomination to any

one considering his/her social status and ability to win the poll. In the post-1990s

parliamentary elections, regretting the candidacy of the dedicated party workers two major

political parties the BNP and the AL awarded nomination to those candidates who were able

to contribute huge amounts of money to the party fund and to spent money in the election

campaign for winning the polls. Besides this, many candidates have paid huge sums of

money to party leaders for lobbying in favor of his/her candidacy. A national daily paper

29 Hossain, Amran, Parties and Party System in Bangladesh, unpublished Ph. D thesis, the University of Sheffield, England, 2007, p.65.

reported that both the BNP and Awami League sold 40 to 50 nominations each in the eighth

parliamentary elections held on October 1, 2001 at a cost of up to Tk 5 crore. Through such

nomination trade, many corrupt businessmen and black money owners obtained nomination.30

Through “mononoyan banijya” or "nomination trade" many businessmen-industrialists got

the nomination and became the Members of the parliament. The Table 4.2 shows that the AL

nominated 114 candidates were business-industrialists and the BNP nominated 157

candidates of such profession. A section of retired civil and military bureaucrats joined the

major parties just before the election with the intention to contest the upcoming elections with

party nomination. As it is calculated, AL nominated 16 former army officers while 10 former

military bureaucrats contested in the election with the ticket of BNP. They were given

nomination because the parties have apparently given maximum emphasis on 'seat politics'.

The parties received also a huge amount of money from the aspirant candidates by selling

application form. For example, the BNP earned about Tk 4.43 crore from the sale and

submission of nomination papers. To become an electoral candidate, the aspirant aspirants

paid Tk 1,000 for buying each form and Tk 20,000 while submitting the form to the party’s

central office. The money BNP earned from submitting nomination forms was a higher than

the AL earned. The AL earned about Tk. 2.07 crore by selling a total of 2,758 nomination

forms each for at Tk.7, 500.

Who were Elected

With the taking of power by the military backed interim government the general election of

2007 was postponed for an undefined period. The constitution of Bangladesh, however,

provides holding election within 120 days of formation of the Caretaker government. The

military backed interim government worked on ‘minus two formula’ which means ousting AL

Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia. They tried to recast the political system of

the country with their selected peoples but they failed to establish them in the political arena.

On 15 July 2007, the Election Commission published a road map for the election, promising to

hold the election before the end of 2008. A general election finally took place on 29 December

2008 which was originally scheduled for January 2007.

30 The Daily Prothom Alo, Dhaka, Januray 14 & 15, 2007.

In this election, the AL obtained the majority with overwhelming victory in 230 constituencies

and its allies obtained 32 seats. The BNP came up as the major opposition party with 30 seats

and its allies elected only from 3 constituencies. The strength of parties in the Jatiya Sangsad,

as it emerged after the general election of December 2008 is as follows:

Table 4.5 Result of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangshad Election, December 2008

Alliances Party Candidates Elected ChangeGrand Alliance

Bangladesh Awami League 245 230 +168

Jatiya Party 46(+15) 27 +16

Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal 3 3 +2

Workers Party of Bangladesh 6 2 +1Four Party Alliance

Bangladesh Nationalist Party 256 30 –163

Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh 34 (+4) 2 –15

Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP 2 1 –4

Islami Oikyo Jote 2 - -

Jamiat-e-Olama-e-Islam 2 - -Independents and others 5 –2

Total 300Source: Electoral Commission of Bangladesh seat-wise tally Election commission homepage

The social standing of the parliament members shown in the Table 4.4 indicates that the

Business-industrial class remained the dominant group in the ninth parliament. The second

largest group of the parliamentarians is retired civil-military bureaucrats. Many of them

entered politics just before the election. On the contrary the percentage of professional

politicians gradually reduced in the parliament, as it is calculated altogether 16 candidates of

such profession were elected in the ninth parliament. Members from other professions (such

as framers, professionals, trade union and students leaders) are still marginalized in the

parliament.

In the Western parliaments, most of the parliamentarians have strong academic background

because higher studies or expertise on subject matter is one of the preconditions for securing

a parliamentary mandate. Unlike the developed democracies, political parties in Bangladesh

did not apparently consider the academic background in selecting the candidates for the

election. Electoral laws although does not mention anything about the educational

qualification of the parliamentary candidates. Though are many parliamentarians who have

no formal education but there are many parliamentarians who studied in the universities.

Figure shows that majority of the members (85.6%) of the Fifth JS were graduates while only

14.4% of the members were undergraduates. Similar picture was also found in the Seventh

and the Eighth parliament. In the ninth parliamentary election, few candidates were

nominated by the major political parties who have no formal education. Therefore it is seen

that most of the MPs have graduate and post-graduate degree.

Like many of other parliaments of the world, the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad is also male

dominated. In the election of 2008, out of 52 women candidates only 19 candidates were

elected from the general seats. In the eighth parliamentary election, parties nominated 27

women candidates for 37 general seats. Among them only six women candidates (16%) were

elected for 13 general seats. Women representation in the Ninth parliament is higher than the

previous one because this time number of reserved seats for the women has been increased

from 30 to 45. The nomination process and the electoral principle of reserved seats for

women render women’s participation in the legislature dependent on the patrons of the male

elites of the party in power. “Women MPs are often told by male MPs that they are selected

and not directly elected and thus they indirectly remind them of their vulnerable position”.31

The donor agencies, NGOs, civil society and academia are therefore advocating for making

the parliament more “woman-friendly”.

31 Bhuiyan, Rbia (1999), “The Representation of Women’s Issues in the Parliamentary Committee System”, in Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad and Institute of Parliamentary Studies, Parliamentary Committee System, Conference Report, Dhaka, 1999, p.221.

Table 4.6 Social Composition of the Members of the Jatiya Sangsad

Background 5th JS 7th JS 8th JS 9th JS

Occupational Background

Businessmen 160 144 171 169

Former Army Officers 17 18 5 15

Former Civil Servants 6 6 3 14

Lawyers 56 51 11 44

Doctors, Eng., Journalists 42 27 11 20

Politics 6 12 7 16

Others 13 42 6 22

Educational Background

Postgraduate 38 40.25 42.38 111

Graduate 46 45.28 47 135

Undergraduate 16 10.37 10 45

Others - 4.1 0.62 9

Parliamentary Experiences

No Experience 204 120 87 163

Experience of one JS 51 81 86 60

Experience of two JS 21 99 82

Experience of three JS 12 - 31

Experience of four JS 12 - 12

Experience of five JS - - 2

Source: Talukder Maniruzzaman, Politics and Security of Bangladesh, Dhaka: University Press Limited, 1994, pp. 150-57, Nizam Ahmed, op cit., p.70, A S M Samsul Arefin, Election in Bangladesh (1970-2001), Dhaka: Bangladesh Research and Publications, 2003. Data on the eighth and the ninth parliament is calculated by the author.

CHAPTER V

Conclusion

As it is observed in this study political parties in Bangladesh are not democratic internally.

Although political parties have democratic principles in their constitution, but in practice most

of the major parties do not follow these principles. There had been a great gap between the

theoretical role of the parliamentary board of political parties and the personal power and

authority of the party chiefs. It is already discussed that all political parties in Bangladesh

have parliamentary boards but parliamentary candidate selection is highly centralized.

Parliamentary candidate selection was not made through democratic process.

In the post-1990s parliamentary elections, regretting the candidacy of the dedicated party

workers two major political parties the BNP and the AL awarded nomination to those

candidates who were able to contribute huge amounts of money to the party fund and to spent

money in the election campaign for winning the polls. It is observed that money, maoussel

and social status played a vital in the nomination process. Therefore, undemocratic means of

candidate selection process in recent years termed as ‘nomination trade’. It is widely

publicized that many candidates have paid huge sums of money to party leaders for lobbying

in favor of his/her candidacy. Through “mononoyan banijya” or "nomination trade" many

businessmen-industrialists got the nomination and became the Members of the parliament.

Such practice not only affected the image of the parties, it also created a new political class

who intended to use their parliamentary position to make money.

It is discussed that political parties in Bangladesh have parliamentary boards but

parliamentary candidate selection is highly centralized. Parliamentary candidate selection was

not made through democratic process. Therefore the civil society, the donor agencies, NGOs

and academia are working and advocating for making the political parties democratic

internally. The Bangladesh Election in this regard amended the RPO adding that parties

should make their nomination through the election at constituency level. In this election, the

Awami League selected the candidates based on the recommendations made by the grassroots

level committees but the BNP did not follow such approach by referring to the shortage of

time to consult with its workers at the local level.

Due to the absence of democratic principal in the party governance party members could

hardly say anything about party policy. Members who criticized their party leaders or

challenged their decision had been either expelled from the party in the name of party

discipline or not nominated for the election. The party candidates who are elected to the

parliament are also controlled by the party chiefs personally rather than institutional norms.

This practice prevented the parliamentarians to participate in the parliamentary process

effectively.

For making the political parties democratic internally following principles should be

practiced in the party governance:

- Political party must be democratic in their internal structure;

- Party convention or council should be held regularly;

- Party top brass leaders should be accountable to the party members;

- Party members should have participation in the party policy or decision making

process;

- In the selection of candidates political parties should emphasis on political

professionalism rather than the personal choice and loyalty ;

- Parties should introduce the primary candidate selection method so that party

members can participate in selecting the candidates;

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