Financing NCP: Who are these affluent people?

According to Nahid Islam, chief of the newly-formed National Citizens Party, it is a number of affluent people across Bangladesh who are helping to finance the party. 

Nahid's statement comes after a lot of hullabaloo regarding the issue.

But who are these affluent people?

Will we also never get to know about them, like we do not know who financially backs up major political parties like the BNP, Awami League and Jatiya Party?

The issue of this sort of crowdfunding has come to light amid ongoing verbal fights between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and Islami Chhatra Shibir, as well as between Gano Odhikar Parishad and the NCP. 

"Crowdfunding" in this manner is a well-established method for the parties to collect "toll" in the name of donations from the so-called well-wishers. 

But we do not know what the well-wishers get back in return.

There is no pragmatic step in Bangladesh to make political parties accountable on the matter.

Now, a common practice of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in Bangladesh is implicating corrupt people when their expenditures are found to be more than that of their earnings.

But what about political parties?

Neither any investigation takes place on the earnings and actual expenditures of political parties nor is even a question raised by the authorities concerned, particularly by the Election Commission (EC).

The ledger is treated as a holy book and whatever the earnings and spending shown are beyond any doubt.

The audit is carried out by the registered political parties themselves or by their appointed audit firms and the EC accepts it without any question.

When asked by the media, several election commissioners in the past on a number of occasions expressed doubt on the audit and hinted that the parties' earnings and expenditures could be more than a hundred times than what was shown.

Former EC Rafiqul Islam had told the media that the political parties do not disclose the huge donations given by businesspeople, often in exchange for unethical favours. 

"It is totally illegal."

M Anisur Rahman, another former EC, had told the media that the accounts shown by the major two political parties – Awami League and BNP – should not be that low.

According to the data from the Election Commission, in 2022, the Awami League's income was Tk10.71 crore and its expenditure was Tk7.87 crore.

On the other hand, in the same year, the BNP's income was Tk5.92 crore and its expenditure was Tk3.88 crore. 

What do the rules say

According to the political parties' registration act, the parties have to submit their accounts of earnings and expenditures by 31 July every year. 

A party can lose the registration if it fails to submit an audit report for three consecutive years.

On receipt of the accounts, both the EC and the concerned party only announce the figures of total earnings and total spending. 

Neither the EC nor the parties make it clear what amount they got from whom and what amount they spent for what purposes.

Whenever journalists asked for detailed audit reports submitted by the political parties, the EC claimed that there was no rule to disclose them. 

But, it never could show where the prohibition was.

The disclosure never took place despite the High Court following a writ petition declaring the income and expenditures as public documents.

India's example, however, is different. 

The country's Supreme Court compelled the political parties to declare the sources of donations.

In Bangladesh, the matter is still private.

Former EC Rafiqul Islam had said a donation by a person is at his own discretion and only the person can disclose how much they donated to a party. 

"The commission does not disclose it considering it a personal affair."

Neither the political parties' registration act of 2008 nor the High Court order could bring any practical change.

On the contrary, the Federal Election Commission of the USA maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees.

Data on individual contributors includes: Name, Occupation or Employer, City, State, Date of transaction, Amount of contribution and Name of committee disclosing the contribution.

Even thorough searches can be made on the donors.

Similarly, contributions to election campaigns are announced by the contributors in the US. 

Everyone knows how much Elon Musk or someone else contributed to Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. 

In Bangladesh, we have the law, but not will. 

So, a new generation leader simply can only mention affluent people but does not feel any compulsion to declare their names.