Fight for the Whitehouse

    Fight for the

    Whitehouse

                                            Nidhu Bhusan Das

 

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump

        



The race for US Presidency is on. The popular vote is on 8 November 2016.U.S. citizens vote in the presidential vote every four years on Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The election is held in even-numbered years like this year. On the day the voters will elect the electors, the members of the Electoral College, who ultimately elect the President and his/her running mate, the Vice-President on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, this time on December 19.The electoral votes are counted in the joint session of Congress, the federal legislature in January. This time they will be counted on 6 January 2017.That day will let the world know who succeeds the incumbent Barak Obama who retires after serving two terms of eight years.

     Nomination:  Now who join the race and how?  The US has two dominant parties –the Republicans and the Democrats. There are Third Parties as well like the Green Party and the Constitution Party. Third parties and independent candidates are minor players in the US, unlike in India.

The two dominant parties nominate their candidates in primaries or caucuses. In a Primary, party members vote for the best candidate who will represent them in the General Election. In a Caucus party members select the best candidate through a series of discussions and votes. 

    Eligibility: The Presidential candidate must be a natural born citizen, at least 35 years old and U.S. resident for 14 years.

    General Election: People in every state across the country vote for one President and Vice President. When they cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people know as Electors.  

   Electoral College: The Electoral College comprises the electors who serve as intermediaries for the country’s voters. In the system each state and the District of Columbia gets a certain number of electors based on its representation in the Congress. The District of Columbia is not a state and does not have any representation in the Congress. But they have 3 electors like the state of Wyoming which has the lowest population. Each state has two senators (the members of the Senate, the Upper House of the Congress like the Rajya Sabha of the Indian Parliament) and a different number of members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the federal legislature like the Indian Loksabha.U.S. states are entitled to a number electors equal to the number of their members of Congress. The number of Representatives changes every 10 years, based on the population of the state.

This time the strength of the Electoral College is of 538. A simple majority of 270 i.e. 51% votes will decide who will occupy the Whitehouse for the next four years.

Usually, the electors vote according to the results of the November popular vote. However, the federal law or the Constitution does not mandate them to do so.

In the history of the United States, the winner of the popular vote didn’t win the electoral vote four times in 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000. In 2000 Al Gore won the highest popular votes but the Electoral College selected George W. Bush for president.

    Front Runners : This time two front runners are  the former First Lady and Secretary of state for the first term Obama administration  Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party and  Donald Trump of the Republican Party.

        

Bureaucracy in Bengladesh

Bureaucracy in Bengladesh

           Nidhu Bhusan Das

         The Government of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh faces a challenge to fill in the vacancies following the retirement of top bureaucrats who imbibe the spirit of the Liberation War. These bureaucrats help the Prime Minister implement the agenda of bringing about a resurgent and

developed Bangladesh shorn of fundamentalism.

         Bureaucracy in Bangladesh, for different reasons, is politicized to a significant extent. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fondly called Bangabandhu, on 15 August 1975, the new nation remained under military rule till 1990. The military rulers depended on the support of the civil bureaucracy, and in lieu of the support the civil bureaucracy strengthened its position. The military and dictatorial rule ended in 1990 with the widow of the assassinated President Ziaur Rahman, Begum Khaleda Zia winning the parliamentary elections and becoming Prime Minister with the support of the Islamic party Jamat-e-Islami. Her rule saw a massive politicization of the bureaucracy.

        The primary emphasis was placed on recruiting “party men bureaucrats”. Besides, it is alleged; candidates with links to student wings of the ruling party and its ally Jamat-e-Islami were recruited. On February 8, 1992, the government decided to promote as many as 654 officials, which created a lot of controversy.

        In 1996, a number of senior bureaucrats were directly involved in a movement to remove a democratically elected government. In 2001, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned to power and had since tried to maintain firm control over the bureaucracy, making it highly politicized. The government appointed 978 officials as “Officer on Special duty” (OSD). The rule of seniority was, allegedly, circumvented to serve the political interest of the ruling party. 493 officials were promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary depriving 322 on February 10 and 16, 2003. On August 27, 2003, 97 were promoted to the post of Additional Secretary depriving 104 and 49 were promoted to the post of Joint Secretary depriving 277 on August 27, 2003. 61 were promoted depriving 31 on March 5, 2005. 378 Senior Assistant Secretaries were promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary depriving around 200 others on January 26, 2006. 153 Deputy Secretaries were elevated to the post of Joint Secretary on July 13 2006, depriving around 100 eligible officers.

       A number of civil servants directly participated in political activities and sought nomination to participate in the upcoming elections. For instance, a civil servant appointed on contractual basis after his retirement was known to be involved in active politics and was projecting himself as a candidate of the ruling party. Thus the top bureaucracy was packed with civil servants favoured by and loyal to the BNP-Jamat combine, it is alleged.

Now, of the 74 secretaries,50 percent are said to be aligned to BNP-Jamat camp,25 percent always tend to be with the party in power and the rest 25 percent go with the spirit and ideology of the Liberation War of 1971.

       Political analysts in Dhaka say, in a couple of years, bureaucrats endowed with the spirit of the Liberation War are going to be few and far between in Bangladesh. Specifically, BCS officers up to1984 batch, by and large, have the spirit. Some of them are already retired. Some got extension for two years on January 26, 2006.The analysts say, it is imperative that the pro-liberation officers be kept in positions of decision making and power till subsequent recruits having the historical sense and spirit of the Liberation War are found capable to deal with the fundamentalist elements in the post-1984 bureaucrats who are thoroughly imbibed with the idea of an Islamic State. The Muslim bureaucrats of the pre-1985 BCS are secular because they have seen or taken part in the War in different forms and manners.

        About 20 secretaries are serving on extension. When the extension period is over, there may not be enough personnel suitable to fill in the vacancies, say the analysts. Those who are retired may be brought to different positions by way of nominations for implementing the agenda of the present government to bring about a qualitative change in the governance and polity which the Hasina Government is set to do, the secular and pro-liberation intellectuals of the capital opine.

       The Government appears to be aware of the situation. Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammad Sadique has been brought as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, and Mr Ujjwal Bikash Datta and Mr. Abul Kalam Azad are made its members after retirement. Mr. Hasan Mahmood Khandakar, former IGP have been made the Ambassador of Bangladesh in Spain, Mr. Abdul Mannan Hawladar, former secretary, is now Ambassador to Mauritius, Mr. Sobhan Sikdar, former Secretary, Establishment, is now Ambassador to Rome. Mr. Mikhail Shipar, former Secretary has been given extension like some other secretaries, inter alia, Mr. Sayeed Manjurul Islam, Mr. Mohammad Alauddin. They are all efficient bureaucrats and are of immense value to the present Government. Mr. Mollah Wahiduzzaman, former PS to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was upgraded to the position of the Chairman of the Privatization Board with the status of a State Minister. He served in that position till 31st August last with authority and efficiency. Such former bureaucrats, it appears, are thought to be assets of the present dispensation in Bangladesh.

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