Parliamentary Opposition in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the opposition in the fifth parliament in Bangladesh (1991-5). It identifies two distinct but interrelated aspects of the role of the opposition, referred to here as proactive and reactive. The evidence presented in the article shows that the opposition MPs fared better than their ruling party counterparts in both respects. The level of activism of the opposition MPs in the fifth parliament was much higher than it was in the earlier parliaments. The government, despite its suspicion of the opposition's motive, was nevertheless more tolerant of its role, at least compared with the past. The article argues that the potential of the parliament, however, could not be harnessed in full because of lack of preparedness of the opposition and the government to acknowledge each other's legitimacy and to abide by the `rules of the game'. Both these factors discouraged the growth of a stable pattern of parliamentary politics in Bangladesh.