The role of local self-government institution for deepening democracy at the grass-root level in Bangladesh

The structure and function of local government of Bangladesh underwent changes during the British and Pakistani rules as well as there had been several changes made to the structure of the local government bodies in the name of decentralization after independence. The institution of local government can help to establish and deepen democratic process and practice as well as ensure participatory development. This paper is an attempt to know how local government is deepening democratic maturity at the grass-root level through the Union Parsihad. The study has been conducted depending on secondary information sources. This study focused on several important procedures which deepen democracy at the grass-root level such as universal franchise, secret ballot, periodic election; people’s participation, accountability and transparency. The paper suggested some strategies such as women empowerment through practice, visible auditing system, community participation in standing committees, participatory open budget mobilizing local own resources, effective coordination which could be more effective to strengthen Union Parishad for propagating of local democracy in Bangladesh. Key words: Local self-government institution, participatory democracy, Union Parishad, grass-root level.