Political parties are inevitable in a democratic system. A modern democratic government system is primarily the rule of a political party. A government formed through people's vote is a democratic government. Without political parties, it is not possible to form this democratic government. In this article, we will discuss what a political party is, relations between democracy and political party and elections and election commission, and so on.
By the end of this article we would be able to -
• explain the concept and characteristics of a political party.
• analyze the role of a political party in the development of
democracy.
• describe the main political parties of Bangladesh.
• determine the relations between democracy and election.
• describe the structure, power and proceedings of Bangladesh
election commission.
Political party
A political party is that part of a country's populace which is
organized to resolve the national problems on the basis of an ideology or some
principles or programs. The main goal of a political party is to run the
country according to its principles and ideals and to implement election
commitments. A political party works in the interests of every one irrespective
of all religions, races, men, women, classes and professions. One of the
characteristics of a democratic system is the presence of an ideology and program-based
political parties. There are some countries in the world where political
parties do not exist. For example, no party exists in Saudi Arabia. There all
political decisions are taken by the King's family and its council. Again, in
some places laws have been formulated to ban political parties. For example, in
Uganda in the African continent, all political parties were banned by the
government until 2005.
Characteristics of a political party
Organized group of people: A political party
is an organized group of people based on some principles and ideals.
Gaining power: The main goal of a
political party is to form a government by gaining power in a constitutional
way.
Clearly defined ideals and programs: Every
political party has an ideal and clearly defined program. From the point of
ideals, a party may be religion-based or secular. On the other hand, a party
may be different, considering the economic program. For example, Socialist
party.
Institutional framework and leadership: Every
political party has an institutional framework. The party branch extends from
the centre to the local body. Besides, there are various committees in the
central and local levels in each party. However, the party is run by the
central leadership.
Election-related activities: Election plays a
pivotal role in a modern political system and in a democratic or autocratic
government system. The importance of election in a democratic government system
is more than that in an autocratic government system.
During all these elections, the party and its workers carry out
various activities like preparing for election, nominating candidates, drawing
up the party program in an election, election campaign and collecting votes.
Role of a political party
Creating leadership: The head of the political
party is the leader of the party. Just as the party has leadership in the
central level, so there is leadership in the local level. It is not that those
who are leaders at the local level can not be leaders in the central level in
future. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh government is the leader of his/her party.
The political party and the people work to create leaders.
Formation of government: The main function of a
political party is to form a government. In a democratic system, the party that
earns the majority in elections forms the government.
Creating public opinions: One of the
functions of a political party is to create public opinions in favour of its
ideals and programs. In creating this public opinion, a political party adopts
programs like meetings, processions and mass contacts.
Political education: The responsibility of a
political party is to create public awareness about matters related to its
interest. During an election, political parties explain their party programs
and criticize the programs of other parties. People come to know many matters
related to the running of the state from the opinions, discussions etc. The
common people thus become politically educated.
Constructive opposition: Among the political
parties, the winning party in an election forms the government and the second
majority party plays the role of the opposition in the parliament. If the
government makes any mistake, then the main task of the opposition would be to
point out the mistakes of the government through constructive criticism.
Establishment of social unity: In
a society, there are people of different religions, races and classes. Their
interest is different from each other. One of the roles of a political party is
to bring together these different interests and convert them into a program.
A political party seeks people's support to be elected to go to power. A party,
after assuming power, adopts a policy to implement their program. Social unity depends
on implementation of this policy.
Work: Prepare a list of the activities of a political party that
create hope in the minds of the people.
👉 Learn About The main political parties of Bangladesh
Political Party in the development of democracy
Democracy means the presence of political parties. The
importance of a political party in the success of democracy is unlimited. This
is because public opinion is well-organized by a political party and it creates
political awareness among the people.
A political Party teaches its members and leaders to get
accustomed to democratic norms and practices. For example, party leaders and
workers are given opportunity to give their opinions when taking a party
decision and to be tolerant of others opinions. A political party launches a
movement to set up a democratic government through the removal of a government
that works against public interest. In 1990, the political parties of
Bangladesh established democratic rule by removing the anti-people military
government through unanimous opinions of all political parties. In a democratic
system, power is transferred after a certain fixed term. Government is formed
through a free and fair election in a democratic system. This election is not possible
without the participation of political parties.
Work: Highlight the role of political parties in a
democratic system.
Election:
Election is the method of selecting people's representatives. All
citizens with voting rights select representatives from local to national
levels. The process of selecting representatives is called election. Those who
cast votes are called electors or voters. A number of voters collectively are
called electorate. A credible election is one of the conditions of a democratic
system. Besides, at times, elections are also held under martial law and
authoritarian system. In a democratic system, the importance of election is very high.
Through election, the voters elect a deserving candidate from a list of
candidates. The party which gets maximum votes forms the government. The electorate
works as a bridge between the government and the people. Elections in a democratic
system compel the government to be answerable to the people.
Generally if a party, when elected, does not work properly for
the people, then in the next election, the people do not elect that party any
more. As this is true in a developed democratic country, so it is true too in
case of under developed countries. In Britain,
in the 2010 election, the people of that country removed the labour
party from power and voted for the conservative party. Similarly in 2001 the people
of Bangladesh put the BNP in power in
place of Awarni League and in 2008 the Awami League was voted to
power replacing the BNP. In this way, election works as a medium of
communication between the people and the ruling class. Through election, the
people continue its support for the ruling class for a specific duration. Since
the independence of Bangladesh, in a span of 40 years from 1973 to 2014,
elections were held 15 times. Among them there were 2 referendums, 3
presidential elections and 10 parliamentary elections. These elections play an important
role in establishing democracy in the country.
Types of Elections
Elections are of two types . For Example, direct election and
indirect election.
Direct election: When the people vote
directly to elect representatives, it is called a direct election. For example,
the members of Bangladesh parliament are elected by direct votes of the people.
Indirect election: People elect public
representative or an electoral college through votes and when these public
representatives elect the president or members of the reserved seats in
parliament, it is called an indirect election. For instance, the president of
Bangladesh is elected by the parliament members. Again, the president of the
United States is elected by an electoral college.
Individual Task: Give some reasons why the
electorate is important in a democratic system.
Voting methods
Voting method implies how a candidate is selected through
voting. Presently, there are two methods of casting votes: (A) Open ballot
method (B) secret ballot method.
In an open ballot method, the voters openly vote in favour of
the person of their choice. Here, the voters openly say "yes" or
raise their hands to show their support.
On the other hand, in the secret ballot method, the voters
either put a tick mark or seal next to the name of the candidate of their
choice. Currently, this system is universally recognized.
One Man, One Vote
Another important method in the election system is the 'one man,
one vote, system. 'One man, one vote, is presently a universally accepted
system. In this system, any number of candidates can compete for one seat. A
voter can cast only one vote for the candidate of his choice. The competing
candidate who gets the most votes is elected.
Work: Show the characteristics of the election system separately
through a diagram.
Election Commission
An effective election system is a pre-condition to build a
democratic institution. In other words, people's placing of trust on election.
A good and neutral election system is the safeguard for democracy. The
responsibility of holding this credible and neutral election lies in
the hands of election commission.
Formation
The election commission is formed according to the Bangladesh
constitution. It
is a constitutionally formed institution. The election
commission will be formed with one chief election commissioner and not more
than four commissioners, totaling five persons. The president appoints them.
The chief election commissioner presides over the meetings of the election
commission. The tenure of the chief election commissioner and the other
commissioners is five years from the date of their assuming responsibility. It is
the duty of the government and other authorities to assist the election
commission in its work. In addition to the directions given in the
constitution, the election commission is run according to the country's
election rules.
The election commission has its own secretariat to carry out its
work. The independence and neutrality of the election commission is very much
necessary for holding a good and impartial election as well as for forming
parliament with the elected representatives. The election commission is
dependent on the government for its manpower and financial power. That is why
in matters of manpower and finance, independence of the election commission is
absolutely necessary.
Power and activities
The responsibility of the election commission is described in
Article 119 of the constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The
responsibility of the election commission is to hold the elections of the
president and the parliament, prepare the voter list for election, provide
identity cards to the voters, conduct other elections determined by law (this
includes all local government councils like union council, municipality, city
corporation, upazilla council, district council, Hill Tracts Council) as well
as complete other relevant tasks effectively. Besides, it is the duty of the
election commission to select the nomination papers of the candidates in the
election, make policies related to parties and election related policies.
Further, an important task of the election commission is to demarcate
the boundary of the constituency. For example- In the Bangladesh parliamentary
elections, there are 300 constituencies. There the parliament members are
elected through the direct votes of the people. A constituency is determined on
the basis of its geographical size and number of voters. In addition to the
geographical area based 300 seats, there are 50 more reserved seats in the
Bangladesh parliament. These are fixed for women. They are indirectly elected
by the 300 directly elected parliament members.
Work: The role of the election commission is key to holding a good and
impartial election. Arrange debate on this topic.