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 Democracy & Governance |
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| Population & Health | Democracy & Governance | Anti-Trafficking | Enterprise Development | Energy |
| Environment | Food Security | Disaster Management | Education | Gender |
- Bangladesh has approximately 81 million eligible voters. 70% of the total voters voted in the 2008 parliamentary election.
- There are 4,498 Union Councils in Bangladesh. The union council is comprised of 10-15 villages. It is the lowest tier of rural local government that is elected. In 2003, women candidates actively competed and were elected to fill over 12,000 union council seats reserved for women. After about 18 years, elections were held in Upazila (sub-district) Councils in January 2009. Upazila is another tier of rural local government and there are 482 Upazila Councils in Bangladesh.
- In August 2008, Elections were held in four City Corporations and nine Municipalities. Approximately 80% of eligible voters participated in these elections.
Current Conditions: Democracy & Governance
Bangladesh, the seventh most populous country in the world, continues to make significant efforts to improve governance as it addresses urgent needs for food and income security, improved public health and education, and management of the economic and social effects of climate change.
However, an entrenched political culture prone to confrontation, widespread perceptions of corruption, a weak judicial system, and few well-established protections for the basic rights of citizens remain problematic, despite many high profile successes In recent years, including well regarded national elections in December 2008, the enactment of the Right to Information Law in 2009, and the government setting clear development goals to reach before the nation’s 50th year of independence in 2021.
The country has a history of citizen activism and a prolific civil society which form a resilient basis for democracy. Bangladeshis have a strong sense of national identity and, unlike many other emerging democracies, are less vulnerable to divisions across ethnic, religious or regional lines.
Voter turnout in the 2008 parliamentary elections was an astounding 86% of the adult population. This ardently contested and highly competitive election allowed Bangladesh to exit a two-year long state of emergency, but the reforms put in place by the military-backed caretaker government soon yielded to Bangladeshi politics as usual: a winner-take-all approach to government with the opposition choosing to disengage from the policy-making process, resorting to boycotts and protests.
Currently, Bangladesh is enjoying favorable economic growth and has shown remarkable progress in maternal and child health care, rural electrification and disaster preparedness, but its institutions of governance require greater capacity to address mounting pressures from environmental changes and a needy population, including the swelling youth demographic. Many of these challenges will be met at the local level local by elected and unelected government authorities. The strength of Bangladesh’s communities and the protection of the rights of citizens will also determine the country’s progress as a democratic and prosperous nation in this seminal period.
Project Brief: Community-Based Policing
Project Brief: Democratic Participation and Reform in Bangladesh
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