Documentary on Information as Right: use of RTI Act by civil rights activists.
Documentary on Information as Right: use of RTI Act by civil rights activists- Click for Watch.
In a democracy RTI is an accountability tool
August 15, 2026
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
FILE VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL
While awaiting the completion of a government-initiated process to select the three information commissioners, following a prolonged vacancy that this column has lamented time and again, it may be useful to revisit the enduring value of right to information (RTI) in strengthening democratic governance. Few would dispute that transparency and accountability are fundamental to this endeavour. Citizens can participate meaningfully in public affairs only when they have access to information about how decisions are made, how public resources are used, and whether public institutions are fulfilling their responsibilities. RTI provides an essential bridge between citizens and the state, replacing a culture of secrecy with one of openness and strengthening public trust.
The real cost of an absent information commission
July 15, 2026
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
FILE VISUAL: SHAIKH SULTANA JAHAN BADHON
It may sound like a broken gramophone record for us to continue lamenting the absence of the chief information commissioner and two information commissioners in Bangladesh since September 2024, following the political transition after the July uprising. We make no apology for doing so. Their absence has rendered the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2009 largely ineffective, depriving citizens of one of the most important legal instruments for promoting transparency and accountability. We persist because we believe the RTI Act has enormous potential to strengthen democracy by enabling citizens to play a meaningful role in promoting transparent, accountable and responsive governance. That potential makes the present vacancies all the more troubling.
Persistent delay in restoring the Information Commission is unacceptable
June 15, 2026
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
FILE VISUAL: ALIZA RAHMAN
It is true that observers have so far viewed the performance of the BNP government, which took office in February 2026 following a year-and-a-half-long interim administration, with cautious optimism. But many have been dismayed by the government’s failure to appoint the country’s three information commissioners since the previous ones, like numerous officials serving in comparable institutions, vacated their positions in the aftermath of the July uprising. Nearly four months into its tenure, the government’s continued inaction about restoring the Information Commission to full strength has disappointed those who hoped that the political transition would mark a decisive shift towards more democratic, transparent, and accountable governance.
The much-invoked spirit of the July uprising rekindled hopes for a genuine transformation in governance—one in which citizens’ voices would be respected, the rule of law upheld, and the laws of the land used to advance citizens’ interests rather than suppress them. Among more vigilant citizens, there was also the expectation that their right to know how the government functions would be meaningfully guaranteed through, inter alia, the effective implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2009.
A paralysed Information Commission is undermining citizens’ right to know
May 15, 2026
FILE VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL
Recently, Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, has welcomed constructive criticism from citizens regarding the government’s performance. We take that invitation in the spirit in which it was offered—not to criticise the government per se, but to reiterate the deep concern of many citizens over the troubling state of Bangladesh’s Right to Information (RTI) regime and to urge swift corrective action.
This decline began soon after the interim government assumed office in August 2024, when the three information commissioners vacated their positions amid political uncertainty. Their posts have remained unfilled ever since, severely impairing the effectiveness of one of the country’s most important instruments of democratic accountability, the Information Commission. Repeated calls for timely appointments went unheeded, perhaps reflecting an unwillingness on the part of the interim authorities to submit themselves to the scrutiny the law was designed to ensure.
