Election after dissolution of parliament

In the US, Supreme Court judges are appointed for life. They have no retirement date. That does not mean they cling on to their post till the very end! But they do stay for three or four decades in office, retiring near around 80, not waiting till they drop dead. Constitutional posts are not like any other job where you have to stay in office till the day you retire.

Coming to the parliament, the parliament has term of five years, not a single day more. Does that mean the parliament will remain intact for 4 years and 364 days? In parliamentary democracies like ours, the constitutional convention is for the parliament to end before completing full five years. It is dissolved before the end of its five-year term.

Article 72 (3) of the constitution says, “Unless sooner dissolved by the President, Parliament shall stand dissolved on the expiration of the period of five years from the date of its first meeting.” The key phrase here is “unless sooner dissolved by the President...” In a parliamentary system it is taken for granted that upon advice of the prime minister, the president will dissolve the parliament before the end of its term. After all, if the parliament remains intact, then the members of parliament will have a huge advantage over their competitors and a much stronger position. It would be like a football league where a first division club plays against a third division one.  The constitutions of our neighbouring countries also have the ‘unless sooner dissolved clause.’ And in all countries, the president has the power to dissolve the parliament. In United Kingdom and Canada it is the Queen and in Japan, the Emperor.

It is the constitutional convention to dissolve the parliament before the election to ensure fair and inclusive polls. There have been exceptions where the constitutional convention has not been maintained. But those are exceptions to the rule. It is the correct practice to dissolve the parliament before the polls for the sake of fair competition.

According to the media, the honourable prime minister has decided to keep the parliament intact and go ahead with the election. The 11th parliamentary polls therefore are being held without the parliament being dissolved. Unless the prime minister changes her mind, that is the final word.

* Shahdeen Malik is a Supreme Court lawyer and teaches law at the University of Asia Pacific. This piece appeared in Prothom Alo print edition and has been rewritten (excerpts) in English by Ayesha Kabir.