Functioning of the Union Parishad An Analysis from Democratic Perspective
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Abstract
Democracy has become the legitimate demand of all local communities.
Available literature suggests that, today more than 70 countries in various parts of the
world are in the process of implementing political and administrative reforms aimed at
decentralizing and strengthening local governance. In Bangladesh, Union Parishad (UP)
is perceived as one of the basic institutions of the central government that is dedicated
to strengthen democracy by engaging rural community into the decision making and
development process. A local government entity like Union Parishad is considered to
be the significant breeding ground for democracy. Over the years, Union Parishad is
struggling to make this public institution more democratic through different pro-people
initiatives. It is apparent that, colonial mindset of the locally elected representatives;
absence of capable elected representatives; practice of party driven elections and
absence of unanimous elections without political interference; highest scope of the
intervention and control of state government; absence of a strong political will for the
effectiveness of the democratization within Union Parishad; fragile economic
condition; absence of visionary leadership; gender inequality in mainstreaming political
parties; patron-client relationship result in impediment towards persuasive democratic
drive of Union Parishad. The paper is concluded with couple of important
recommendations to make Union Parishad more vibrant and democratic for the sake of
comprehensive development in rural Bangladesh.