PRELIMINARY findings of the Citizen Perception Survey 2025, which the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics made public on June 19, suggest that only 27.24 per cent of the citizens feel free to express their political opinions about government activities. And, there has been no major difference in the perception about expressing opinions on political matters between urban respondents, who account for 27.87 per cent, and rural respondents, who account for 26.94 per cent. The executive chief of Transparency International Bangladesh, however, says that no conclusion should be inferred from the Bureau of Statistics data on governance because the survey, which interviewed 84,807 respondents in 64 districts this February, has spanned two periods 鈥� months of the Awami League鈥檚 tenure that preceded the August 5, 2024 political changeover and the first seven months of the interim government after the change that was marked by instability, protests and mob violence. Yet, a bit less than three-fourths of the citizens still failing to express their political opinions does not paint an assuring picture, especially after the political changeover, which was expected to bring a better proposition.
The findings of the survey, conducted to measure citizens鈥� perception of safety, governance, public services, corruption, access to justice and discrimination in the year ending this February, also suggest that 31.67 per cent of the citizens had to pay bribes for public services. Close to a third of the citizens having had to pay bribes for public services is also no good proposition. The findings say that the highest 63.29 per cent of citizens had to pay bribes for services at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority. The law enforcement agencies came second, with 61.94 per cent of the citizens having had to pay bribes for services. The survey lists the Department of Immigration and Passports in the third place, with 57.45 per cent of service-seekers having had to pay bribes. And, the Directorate of Registration came fourth in the list, with 54.92 per cent of the service-seekers having paid bribes. The Transparency International Bangladesh executive chair has noted that the findings that deal with the citizens鈥� perception of corruption for public services paints almost the same picture that the 2001 survey of Transparency International Bangladesh did. He has said that corruption cannot be curbed without creating an enabling environment by automating service delivery and by properly trying corrupt public officials.
The findings put an accent on the need for improvement in safety measures, governance transparency, the quality of services, efforts against corruption. The interim government, which has come to run the country with loads of promises, should, therefore, start acting early in the right direction.
