Eyes on polls

The ruling Awami League opens its 20th National Council today, with Prime Minister and party chief Sheikh Hasina is expected to use the occasion to call on party colleagues to highlight the government’s achievements over the past eight years and start preparing for the next general election.

To display the government’s successes, a giant LED screen on the stage has been installed at the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan, where the two-day triennial council will take place amid an unprecedented extravaganza.

Shaped like a boat, the party’s electoral symbol, the stage resembles a floating boat.

The AL expects some 50,000 participants, including party delegates from across the country and local and foreign guests. Hasina is expected to inaugurate the council at 10:00am.

Navy divers run a security check in a lake yesterday close to the stage built for the two-day 20th national council of the Awami League beginning at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital today.

All preparations have been completed for the council, which, in theory, elects the party’s leadership for three years.

Already, much of Dhaka looks like a city of lights with major streets illuminated with colorful bulbs in addition to numerous placards, billboards and festoons lauding various achievements of the government.

The slogan of the event is, “We are marching down the development highway, now is the time for Bangladesh to stand tall.”

In the proposed amendments to the party’s declaration paper, achievements and major development activities — both at planning stage as well as under implementation — have been described in details, party sources said.

The paper many also include AL government’s achievements during its 1996-2001 tenure.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Health Minister and party Presidium Member Mohammed Nasim said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is marching towards development in every sector and we will underscore it to our leaders and workers so that they can convey the message to the people.”

In addition to doing just that, Hasina is likely to play up the “destructive activities” carried out by archrival BNP over the last few years as well as the “bad governance” during the 2001-2006 four-party government rule and the 2007-08 caretaker government tenure.

Party sources said their aim is to drum up public support for the next national polls, expected at the end of 2018 or early 2019.

The AL, one of the oldest political parties in the Indian subcontinent formed in 1949, holds its national council every three years. Its current committee, formed through its last council on December 29, 2012, expired on December 28 last year.

The party first decided to hold the council in December last year but failed. After changing the dates twice more since, it settled for October 22-23.

In her address, Hasina is likely to urge party men to prepare for the next election, sources said.

The party top brass would also give the grassroots a guideline to strengthen the organisation, said Nasim, also convener of the reception sub-committee of the council.

“Youths will get priority in the next committee,” he added.

LITTLE FOCUS ON DEMOCRACY

War crimes trial, implementation of the Bangabandhu murder case verdict, anti-militancy drive, trial of money laundering case against Tarique Rahman, among other things, are being touted as government’s successes to ensure rule of law and god governance.

But the amended declaration paper is unlikely to come up with any significant proposals to improve the state of democracy and governance system, hinted party insiders.

After a gap of seven years, the AL returned to power by winning the December 2008 parliamentary election. It retained power through the January 5, 2014, “one-sided” general election boycotted by the BNP-led alliance.

 THE SAME OLD FORMULA?

As a political party registered with the Election Commission under the Representation of the People Order in 2008, the AL must have elected leaders at every level.

The party’s charter also speaks for election to the posts of president and general secretary.

According to the party constitution, in addition to the party president and the general secretary, 11 presidium members, one treasurer, 31 secretaries, including three joint general secretaries, and seven organising secretaries must be elected by the councilors.

As many as 6,570 councillors from 73 organisational district units and 460 upazila units of the party are the electorates.

For the election, the AL formed a three-member Election Commission led by Mashiur Rahman, an advisor to the prime minister.

Asked, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, a member of the EC, said: “If a single name is proposed for each of the two top posts [president and general secretary], we will not go for vote.

“If there are multiple candidates for the two posts, we will first try to negotiate. If we fail to negotiate, we will then go for vote,” said Humayun, also a member of the AL advisory council.

He said ballot papers and transparent ballot boxes will be available there.

The EC would go for electing other party office bearers after electing the president and the general secretary, he said.

However, in recent councils, including those in 2009 and 2012, no voting took place.

In the past two councils, Hasina and Syed Ashraful Islam were elected president and general secretary unopposed.

And following their election, the party councillors empowered Hasina to pick other office bearers.

The same may happen this time as well, insiders said.

Source: The Daily Star