Political finance, culture blocking access to democracy, experts warn at Daira roundtable
Experts at the roundtable called for urgent reforms, including mandatory internal party democracy, grassroots-led nomination panels, public disclosure of income and expenditure for all elected representatives, and greater transparency under the Right to Information Act.
"Nomination has practically turned into a sort of business," said Badiul Alam Majumder, chief of the Election Reform Commission and founder editor of Shujan, warning that the growing influence of money in politics is undermining Bangladesh's democracy.
Discussing political finance at a policy roundtable organised by the Dacca Institute of Research and Analytics (Daira) at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies today (24 November), Majumder described how political nominations are increasingly controlled by financial transactions rather than merit.
"Some groups operating in politics are not true parties but business syndicates," Majumder said, adding that funds are collected and spent to secure nominations, often bypassing grassroots party members.
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This commercialisation, he warned, excludes capable and honest candidates while allowing unqualified individuals to enter politics. Evidence of the power-money nexus is reflected in pre-election financial declarations, which often show abnormal growth in candidates' assets before or after elections.
Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, echoed these concerns, highlighting a tripartite nexus of power, money, and muscle that drives corruption, rent-seeking, and lobbying within the political system.
He noted that the proportion of parliamentarians whose primary profession is business rose from 17% in the first parliament to 65% today, warning that politics and business have become mutually exploitative.
Experts at the roundtable called for urgent reforms, including mandatory internal party democracy, grassroots-led nomination panels, public disclosure of income and expenditure for all elected representatives, and greater transparency under the Right to Information Act.
"Without internal reform, neither fair elections nor a healthy democracy is possible," Majumder said, while Iftekharuzzaman added that political parties must ask themselves whether their political power serves public interest or personal gain.
Speakers underscored the deep opacity in Bangladesh's political financing system, pointing to weak regulatory frameworks and the heavy reliance on informal transactions.
They discussed in detail how non-transparent party financing undermines democratic competition, influences policymaking, and distorts fair market systems.
The discussion also examined the inequality stemming from political–business alliances, poor accountability, and the uncertain, uncompetitive environment created under the guise of protecting business interests.
Opening the session, researchers Ragib Anjum and Ahmudul Haque presented a policy brief outlining the political parties' financing culture, particularly the opaque methods surrounding their routine income and expenditure beyond election-related spending.
They introduced three analytical models to explain parties' excessive dependence on business actors and the consequences of that dependence. Their presentation also offered practical policy recommendations aimed at establishing clear rules for transparency, accountability, and financial reporting in political party financing in Bangladesh.
Among those present were Shama Obayed, organising secretary of BNP; Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, assistant secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami; and Khaled Saifullah, joint convenor of the NCP.
