Distinguished Professor Ali Riaz has published a book chapter on the role of Bangladeshi legislative body in facilitating the executive branch’s power aggrandizement. The chapter entitled “The Legislature as a Tool, Executives’ Power Grab, and Civilian Authoritarianism: The Bangladesh Case” examines the role of the legislature in the process of transformation of Bangladesh from democracy to authoritarianism, especially during civilian rule. The book, “Legislative Decline in the 21st Century: A Comparative Perspective” is edited by Irina Khmelko, Rick Stapenhurst, and Michael Mezey.
Riaz writes that the Bangladeshi legislature has become more complicit in enabling the executive branch amassing enormous power and acting as a tool for furthering authoritarian tendencies of the ruling party in the past decade. He focuses on three constitutional amendments—the 4th, 15th, and 16th Amendments of the Bangladeshi constitution—which have enormous implications for democratic governance. The 4th Amendment transformed Bangladesh into a one-party state, the 15th Amendment removed the caretaker government proviso allowing the incumbent to manipulate the national election, and the 16th Amendment empowered the parliament to impeach judges of the Supreme Court. The book is published by Routledge.
