By Nazmus Saquib
The political crisis is deepening with each passing day. Many people believe this political crisis is the result of the 15th amendment of the constitution that has abolished the caretaker system of government. “This present Awami League government is the result of the Fakhruddin-Moinuddin led caretaker government. Our Prime Minister had also called 173 days of hartal for the establishment of caretaker system of government in the constitution in 1995-1996. So now her stand against the caretaker system is diametrically opposite to her previous position and hence it can be called a double standard from her part” said Shakhawat Hossain, a banker. However, some people also do believe that caretaker government system can not be a permanent solution for a stable democratic polity. “We are an independent nation. We elect a government for five years and entrust them with the responsibility to govern us. Then why do we need to dependent on an unelected cabinet for conducting the national election for an interim period? Why can’t we trust our elected representatives? Isn’t it demeaning our total system of democratic process?” asks Tipu Sultan, a government official.
Amid this political deadlock, the worst sufferers are the general people. Their normal day to day activities have come to a standstill due to continuous hartals and blockades by the opposition parties. The violence on the streets, specially the arson attack on buses in recent times have killed many people and injured scores others. Who is to take the responsibility for this recent spate of political violence? “I think the government is mainly responsible for this political impasse. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently said that she is willing to do any sacrifice for the sake of the people. If she believes what she said, then she should immediately initiate a dialogue with the opposition parties for holding an inclusive election. The national election, which is scheduled to be held on 5 January next year, has already lost its credibility after the boycott of H.M Ershad’s Jatiyo Party” tells Aminur Rashid, a retd. civil servant. Echoing views with Aminur, Samsul Alam, a trader said, “The upcoming general election has already become a farce. One sided election sans the main opposition party would never yield anything good for the nation. It will beget more violence and jeopardize our lives in the coming days.”
At a time when the whole world is apparently concerned about the political stalemate in Bangladesh, our politicians seem rigid on their respective positions. Nobody is caring much about the ordeal of the general people, examinations of students and damage to our business and economic sector. The government is desperate to cling to power at any cost and the opposition has already started street fights for restoring the interim government system in the general election. “If you look at our past political history, you would see that all the major legitimate demands of the oppositions have been realized through street fights. All the independent surveys have also disclosed that at least 80% people are in favor of a neutral poll time government. Having said that, it is also true that this government did not influence the election processes and BNP nominated candidates have won in the recent five City Corporation polls. However national election is a totally different thing where stakes are much higher” says a political analyst wishing anonymity. He adds, “Our two main political parties who have ruled us since the fall of autocratic Ershad regime have in fact competed with themselves when it comes to poor governance and lack of accountability. Both the Awami League and BNP have shown sheer disregard to rule of law, human rights and accountability. The kind of oppression they inflict on the opposition parties when one of them is in power is the main reason why they are afraid of a free, fair and credible national election. Because in our system, the winner takes it all and the loser has to face the music.”
BNP tried its best to influence the national election in 2006. Amid the boycott of opposition Awami League and their forceful agitational programmes, ultimately the military had to intervene and we saw the formation of an army backed interim government that presented us with a free, fair and credible election within two years time. “We thought the winner of our national election in 2008 would bring qualitative change to our politics. But sadly what we saw in the past five years were far from expectations. True, there were dramatic improvements in power and education sector. However bad outweighed the good in many ways” observes Kazi Salam, a businessman. He continues, “The Ilias Ali disappearance, Sagar-Runi, Biswajeet murder, Limon’s ordeal, share bazaar –hallmark-destiny scams, quick rental scams, padma bridge scams, Yunus and Grameen Bank issues, forceful shut down of daily Amar Desh, Diganta and Islamic Tv, rampant arrest to key opposition leaders, et al have backfired against this government. Moreover giving nomination to controversial figures like Shamim Osman and Suranjit Sengupta has given a very wrong message to the general people.”
When writing this article, the news of UN assistant secretary general Taranco’s meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner came. The nation is eagerly waiting for an amicable solution to present political deadlock through UN negotiations and hence Taranco’s five day tour to Dhaka is considered highly significant. Wishing anonymity, a political observer says, “We have never seen any positive outcome through such dialogues. The government and the opposition do not believe each other. The government is not giving any room to the opposition for a peaceful resolution to this present crisis, rather it is more concerned to facilitate the demands of the fallen military dictator H.M Ershad to bring his party to the January 5 election. At present, we can not expect a level playing field if the PM is at the helm of this poll time government. Even the state run BTV is still the mouthpiece of the ruling party. So how can this bring the opposition party into confidence for a free, fair and credible poll?”
