Parliament‐executive relations in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article examines the nature of parliament‐executive relations in Bangladesh in the early 1990s, when the country had a new beginning in parliamentary politics after several years of (quasi)military rule. It explores the scope and limits of the ways the executive government sought to dominate the parliament. The article also discusses the proactive role of the opposition lawmakers and government backbenchers. The evidence shows that the fifth parliament (1991–95) was relatively more successful than its predecessors in promoting the issues that its members considered important and also in making the government behave. What gave the parliament its strength was the ‘unity’ of the opposing forces ‐ government backbenchers and opposition MPs ‐at least on some important issues. This, to some extent, strengthened the. parliament without weakening the executive. There were, however, several structural constraints that limited the influence of the parliament. The paper analyses the implications of those drawbacks.