In Bangladesh constitution, Article 70 states: “A person elected as a member of Parliament at an election at which he was nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if he resigns from that party or votes in Parliament against the party.”
We can complain all about our crippled political system and ineffective parliament, but the fact that a single component in our constitution stands as a key obstacle in preventing democracy in Bangladesh. So the fact that the opposition / minority parties are always “walking out” of the parliament should not be received with any shock, since this provision ensures that whatever bill needs to be passed will almost always be in accordance to the ruling party’s preference. And then obviously it should be any surprise when the oppositions take the streets to protest. Lets look at a scenario.
If a ruling party wishes to put forward a bill in the parliament, say to change the name of the country to premier’s name, then it should be automatically taken that this will pass through. Obviously since the ruling party holds the highest number of seats in the cabinet and each one of them according to the provision are forced to vote in favor of what the party leader decides. And irregardless how much the opposition parties whine, the bill will be passed.
What is most amusing however, is why even the opposition parties never raise this issue? Perhaps they would rather have no voice for a period in order to enjoy full control when they are back in power. In 2009, Dr. Mozaffar Ahmad (Economist & Civil rights activist) suggested that a constitution review committee is formed to review this article along with other provisions, if Bangladesh is to move forward towards a transparent and healthy democracy.
