Nearly three-quarters of the country's voters believe that development can only be ensured if roads, bridges and culverts are built and employment is created. In other words, voters' views on development are still mainly focused on building visible infrastructure.
This idea is also influencing their decision to vote in the national election.
This emerged in a recent survey by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). The results of the survey titled “Green Sustainable Economy Trends and Expectations in Electoral Areas: Results of Candidate and Voter Survey” were presented at a media briefing organized at Brac Center Inn in the capital on Saturday.
If Awami League is excluded from the upcoming national election to be held on February 12, the election will not be inclusive and acceptable, the CPD commented.
"The large number of supporters and voters of the Awami League, whose activities are banned, can play an important role in determining the final election result. If their opinions and participation are ignored, the credibility of the election may be questioned."
The CPD also said that in the political reality of the country, it is difficult to organize an acceptable election by excluding any major political force and its voters.
According to CPD, to ensure a credible, participatory and democratic election, it is essential to include all major political parties and their supporting voters. Otherwise, there is a risk of questions being raised at home and abroad about the election results.
The research organization also said that elections are not just an administrative process; rather, they are a reflection of the people's representation and opinions. Therefore, ensuring political inclusion is the main condition for the acceptability of elections.
CPD research director Khandaker Golam Moazzem presented the survey data at the media briefing. CPD senior research associate Helen Mashiat, program associates Sami Mohammad, Maliha Sabah, and Nur Yana Jannat were present at the time.
The survey showed that most voters consider roads, bridges, culverts and other visible infrastructure projects as the main indicators of development. These projects are being considered as tangible evidence of development by voters as they directly or indirectly generate employment.
The study also shows that about 86% of urban voters closely associate road and bridge construction with development. This trend is even higher in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, coastal areas, climate-vulnerable and marginal areas.
Almost the same view of development has been observed among voters as well as political party representatives and candidates. Although in some cases the development concept of candidates is relatively broad, overall the infrastructure-centric view is prevailing.
Helen Mashiat, senior research associate at CPD, said that 95% of voters believe that it is possible to build a green society in Bangladesh. However, she cautioned that this one-sided trend of development concept may overshadow important issues such as sustainable development, environmental protection and climate adaptation in the long term.
According to her, in addition to infrastructure and employment, education, health, environment and overall quality of life should be given more importance in the development discussion.
The survey found that 61% of voters emphasized planting trees and reducing plastic use as ways to protect the environment. Political candidates also mentioned almost the same solutions.
According to the researchers, there is a clear behavioral trend among voters—they see tasks that can be easily done personally as the main solutions to protect the environment.
The rate of voters who know about renewable energy is 47%, and this rate is 42% for candidates. However, the study noted that there is still a deficit in seeing renewable energy as a central element of environmental protection and sustainable development.
The study found that voters and candidates give the least importance to social development compared to the environment and economy. The pressure of poverty, income, and employment is so strong for voters that social issues are becoming secondary.
In terms of social development, voters' priorities are limited mainly to two basic issues—health and education. According to the CPD, this makes it clear that a large part of the country's population is still struggling to meet basic needs.
The survey collected the opinions of 450 election candidates and their nominated representatives from 150 constituencies across the country, as well as 1,200 voters from various climate-vulnerable areas.
The views, expectations, and realistic plans of voters and candidates were analyzed in light of three pillars: environment, green economy, and social development.
