Citizens voice for MPs, Sangsad of their dream
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday released a citizen charter reflecting voters' expectations of not seeing the corrupt, bankrupt, black money holders and war criminals in parliament again.
The voters express the hope in the charter that honest, educated, experienced and non-communal forces would be elected in the December 18 national polls to make parliament functional by giving up walkout and boycott culture.
The charter on peoples' expectations of parliament and lawmakers was made public at a seminar in Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital. It also reveals that a parliament member (MP) should be a graduate, resident of his/her own constituency and have at least five years experience in politics.
Reading out the charter, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said people expect the lawmakers will have the capacity, insight and intellectual to represent people home and abroad. They will not be land-grabbers but patriotic who would nurture the spirit of the Liberation War.
The anti-graft watchdog conducted a survey by involving different professionals across the country in the backdrop of shocking experience of the last three parliaments. It prepared the charter on the basis of the survey outcomes.
The survey was carried out in 32 parliamentary constituencies in 30 districts from June to September this year. As many as 3,200 voters, 100 each from a constituency, were interviewed.
"Some 85.4 percent of the respondents want an MP to have a graduation degree, while 35.4 percent said educational status can't be considered," says a report prepared analysing the survey data.
Some 20.4 percent think lawmakers should be lawyers in profession, while 17.3 percent and 8.4 percent expect them to be teachers and businessmen respectively.
Ninety percent believe an MP would play a significant role in developing local infrastructure, but 69.8 percent say they should not interfere in implementing development projects.
Sixty-seven percent want the lawmakers to monitor law and order in their constituency but not hold president posts in different local-level committees. They will work for overall development, not only for their own, majority of the respondents observe.
The citizens also want to know the educational status, source of income, criminal cases, assets, profession, election expenditure and the amount of money owed from a government institution of an MP aspirant.
"For giving wrong information, there should be steps for his or her punishment," says the report, revealing hope of 87 percent that lawmakers would raise problems of their locality in parliament, while 82.6 percent expect they would help promulgate laws for the welfare of the people.
It adds, "Ninety-six percent believe lawmakers, including the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, should attend parliament proceedings regularly, while 81.7 percent observe the MPs should be allowed to remain absent for 30 days instead of 90 days.
"Some 80.6 percent say they don't expect unwanted or anarchic situation in parliament, while 75 percent expect the MPs not to stage agitation outside parliament by calling hartal and strike.
"The lawmakers would not be sycophantic to their leaders and do constructive criticism of others," the report adds.
To make parliament functional, 94.9 percent say both the ruling and the opposition MPs must attend the proceedings regularly, 94.5 percent want taking opinions of citizens before promulgating an important law, while 85 percent demand access of media in every session.
A majority of the respondents also want availability of the outcome of the parliamentary standing committee meetings.
They also strongly denounce dynasty in politics, saying leaders should be selected in a democratic way and parties should be registered with the Election Commission. "Some 65.7 percent want the parties keep an account of their income and expenditure."
They strongly oppose boycotting parliament and call for hartal and strike and confrontational activities on the streets, partisan attitude of the Speaker, and lack of constructive criticism by both the ruling and opposition lawmakers.
On giving nomination, 97.5 percent consider honesty of the candidates, 91 percent educational status, 85.9 percent welfare activities and 74.3 percent political experience.
Former chief adviser to the caretaker government Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman was the chief guest at the function. He said an elected political government should act as a caretaker government and conduct elections.
"We vote them to power. So they should hold the election like many nations in the world," he said referring to Sri Lanka.
Presiding the seminar, TIB Board of Trustees Chairman Prof Muzaffer Ahmad stressed the need for increasing political awareness among the citizens to bring accountability among MPs.
He said the role of the Speaker is a main reason behind miserable state of the last parliaments. He put importance on question-answer sessions to make parliament effective and accountable.
Prof Muzaffer expressed the hope the parliamentary election would take place on December 18 but said there are confusions and concerns about it among cross-section of people.
Prof Khan Sarwar Murshid, Justice Abdur Rouf, Awami League presidium member Matia Chowdhury, former whip Principal Abdus Shahid, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) Hasanul Haq Inu, chief of Unity for Political Reform ASM Abdur Rab, Jatiya Party (Manju) leader Shaikh Shahidul Islam, AL leader Shawkat Ali, Prof Dilara Zaman of Jahangirnagar University and Dhaka University teachers Dr Dalem Chandra Barman and Dr Tayabur Rahman also took part in the discussion.
AL leader Matia and JSD chief Inu supported the outcomes of the survey but were skeptical about its implementation in the polls.
"Politics has not been tainted in a day. We need to clean the dust from our body and that is not possible in a short time," Matia said, adding the civil society should have come forward much earlier with the initiative.
Inu expressed the hope that the next parliament would be much better than the past ones if muscle-men, bankrupts, corrupt, war criminals and toll collectors are barred from taking part in the elections. "But they are already back in the fold."
BNP leaders were also invited but none turned up.
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