Jumbangla Desk: After the interim government of Bangladesh took charge, various commissions have been formed to reform the state system including the election system. Many political parties have also raised the demand for proportional representation election or PR system on the question of electoral system reform.

Recently, in a seminar on this, many political parties including Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan, Communist Party have raised their demands in favor of proportional voting.

However, BNP, one of the largest political parties in Bangladesh, is opposed to this method and stands in favor of elections in the conventional parliamentary system.

Election and political analysts say that the proportional election system on the one hand prevents the path of dictatorship, on the other hand, this system also ensures the reflection of the public opinion of the voters.

There are also many questions about whether it is possible to introduce the election system in this manner over the objection of such a large political party.

According to political analysts on this question, effective initiatives can be taken regarding such a system if all parties agree.

Taking the example of the countries in the world where elections are being conducted in this way, analysts say that even if it is not started soon, Bangladesh can slowly walk the path of proportional voting.

What is proportional electoral system?
Proportional Representation or PR is a system of electoral system in which seats are distributed in proportion to the number of votes received by each political party.

For example, if a party gets 10 percent of the total votes cast, that party will get 10 percent of the parliament or 30 seats proportionally.

In PR or proportional representation election, there are three proportional election systems in different countries of the world: free, secret and mixed.

Election analyst Professor Tofail Ahmed told BBC Bangla, "The percentage of votes a party gets in the election, they will get seats in the parliament in that proportion. If this proportional representation system is introduced in the election, it can play an important role in ensuring good governance."

Election analysts say that in this system every vote cast in an election counts and every vote is equally represented in Parliament. Moreover, seats in Parliament are allocated based on the number and percentage of votes cast in an election.

Political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad told BBC Bangla, 'It is possible to reflect the opinions of all voters through voting in this manner.'

As the reason, he said, 'Many parties do not even get a single seat in Parliament even if there is a very small difference. But if the elections are held in this manner, all political parties have the opportunity to be represented in the parliament if they get the minimum number of votes.

What is the difference with the conventional election system?
In the current parliamentary election system of Bangladesh, political parties participate in the election by giving separate candidates to 300 seats.

Let's say, in the current system, a total of four candidates are electing from four parties in a seat in the national elections. 85 percent voting in this election.

Among them, the first, second and third candidates got 20 percent votes. And the fourth candidate got 25 percent votes.

According to the current system, only the fourth candidate will be elected as MP from this seat. And the 60 percent votes of those three parties are of no use.

Similarly, if the candidates of the fourth party win at least 290 constituencies across the country with the same rate of votes, then with only 25 percent of the votes, they will dominate the parliament with the formation of the government.

Although the remaining three parties got 60 percent of the votes, they did not have any representation in the parliament. It does not involve representative participation in Parliament.

Election analyst Prof. Tofail Ahmed told BBC Bangla, 'If the election is conducted in this way, someone can win and form the government by using their own vote bank or by using their local image. In that case, many times the opinion of the majority voter is not reflected.'

And in the proportional election system, before the vote, each party will publish the list of candidates based on the order. Each political party will get the number of seats according to the percentage of votes it gets.

Political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad told BBC Bangla, "Although some political parties get an average of 10 to 15 percent of votes across the country, they have no representation in Parliament due to the lack of a single majority based on seats. Those parties will have representation in Parliament if the elections are held in this manner.'

Is it possible to elect proportional system in Bangladesh?
Proportional representation election system is in operation in different countries of the world.

A recent survey showed that out of 170 countries in the world, 91 countries have this type of election system. Proportional elections are held in many countries of the developed world, including two countries in South Asia and Europe.

Election and political analysts of Bangladesh have been recommending the introduction of proportional electoral system at various times in the last decade.

According to them, as there are many controversies about the electoral system of Bangladesh, it cannot be stopped even if any political party becomes dictatorial in the current system of elections.

According to Professor Tofail Ahmed, to change the electoral system of Bangladesh, this system can be introduced. In that case, it is possible to introduce a proportional representation election system by analyzing what has been achieved in this system in different countries of the world.

He told BBC Bangla, 'We have seen the difficulties of the conventional election system of Bangladesh. We have not seen the disadvantages of proportional electoral system. To introduce it, the constitution needs to be changed. But that is not very difficult.'

Election and political analysts are analyzing this crisis differently by highlighting some of the flaws in this approach.

He also said that the government that is formed in the election of this PR system is not stable. Because no political party in Bangladesh will be able to achieve a single majority if the elections are held in this manner.

That is why analysts are emphasizing on the consensus of the political parties of Bangladesh to hold proportional elections.

Objections and Consent of Political Parties
The Reporters Forum for Elections and Democracy recently organized a seminar on the reform of the country's electoral system.

Many political parties and election analysts of the country including BNP, Jamaat, Jatiya Party, Communist Party were present in that seminar.

A large number of political parties participating in this seminar were in favor of conducting national elections on the proportional representation system instead of the existing system.

Many of those parties had also been demanding the introduction of PR system in the recent dialogue with the Chief Adviser.

Although there is a consensus of the middle and small political parties in this method, one of the largest political parties, BNP, has objections. The party has been supporting the current electoral system in the national elections since its inception.

Another major political party, Awami League, however, was not invited to these dialogues.

Election analyst Mohiuddin Ahmad told BBC Bangla, 'BNP thinks that they will get the majority of seats if the elections are held in the conventional manner. They don't want to give anything to anyone else. That is why they are against proportional voting.'

Analysts say, not only BNP, but this proposal was made in the past but this method was not started because two big parties like Awami League and BNP in Bangladesh did not want it.

According to Professor Tofail Ahmed on this question, if most of the political parties have the pressure of public opinion to introduce this type of election system, then it is possible to hold elections in this system even if two political parties do not want to.

He told BBC Bangla, 'Many of the smaller political parties are showing great interest in this system for quick voting. Again, the big political parties do not want it for their own interests. Now both sides have to think from a logical place.'

Analysts say that the proportional representation election system can be a solution to prevent long-term autocracy or dictatorship, citing the example of this system introduced in Nepal after the fall of the monarchy for a long time.

Source: BBC