The party should feel strengthened to think along new lines
We congratulate Sheikh Hasina and Syed Ashraful Islam on their reelection as the party president and general secretary. The outcome was predictable and the procedure pretty much ritualistic in that they have been elected unopposed in keeping with party tradition.
Even so, the fact that the party held its national council to elect its top-end hierarchy after a time-lag of three years is commendable. For, our major political parties are not particularly known to hold regular national councils to infuse a sense of continuity, direction and dynamism into their organisations.
Having said that, we note the stark deficit in intra-party democracy. Not only the mantle of leadership in the two top positions is assumed uncontested, there is also a broader negation of democratic principle in the way party's crucial bodies are going to be formed. The council has given the sole mandate of choosing other members of the AL central committee to the party president and general secretary.
Let's not forget that the AL Central Working Committee is the highest decision making forum of the party. But the manner in which this is being formed contravenes with the AL charter and violates certain provisions of the Representation of the People's Order (RPO).
The AL charter mandates the councilors to elect all leaders including a treasurer. Also significantly, the councilors are to elect 13 members of the Presidium, the AL's highest policy making body as well as 31 secretaries including three joint general sectaries and seven organising secretaries.
As a registered political party under the RPO, the AL councilors were supposed to elect the entire central committee barring 26 members, the party chief is empowered to select.
The central question is whether voting rights of the councilors can be delegated to others. Obviously not. If a party is not seminally respectful of the rights of councilors to elect their leaders how could then it operate strongly and democratically in relation to the people as well as the opposition.
The negation of any semblance of intra-party democracy is opposed to the principle of check and balance and growth of leadership within the party.
It is time the registered political parties move towards embracing democratic practices within them. This will bring the added benefit of bridging the disconnect between party's top machinery, mid-level leaders and the grassroots that we often hear of.
Source: The Daily Star