National election and beyond
BETTER late than never. At last BNP has agreed to participate in the national election. Moreover, after a lapse of 16 years, the two former premiers have shown clear indication for a peaceful, fair, free and credible election, for which both the CTG and the EC are working with sincerity and determination.
No doubt the miscalculation and lack of experience of the CTG had resulted in some mistakes in the past. If they succeed in bringing all the parties to participate in the election the people may accept their omissions with good grace. The two eminent ladies in our politics have proved convincingly that parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh cannot operate without their sincere and active cooperation. In fact, establishing a truly democratic Bangladesh depends much on them.
It would be unfair to reject all the good deeds of the CTG and the EC in the last 22 months. Their good intentions could not be successfully implemented due to their inept handling of our politicians. This has resulted in great uncertainty.
Our hope for a better future under an elected government depends on completion of a successful election. The confrontational politics of BNP and AL had brought the country close to a disaster. Now we expect to see the beginning of a new era of peace and progress under a new politics of cooperation, which is essential for healthy growth of democracy, economy and prosperity of the nation.
We do not see any problems in agreeing to the demands of the BNP-led alliance. Though no serious danger of deterioration of law and order is envisaged, it would be advisable for the CTG to be careful about the movements of Islamic militants groups and the safety of minority communities.
Some interesting events may happen in the selection of candidates for the election. The detainees whose charges could not be framed by ACC will have to be allowed to contest. However, there may not be any scope for allowing the convicted the same privilege.
The attempt of some major parties to support their known devils rather than their unknown angels should not be entertained. In the case of loan defaulters, it appears to be wrong to allow them to contest because that would not only encourage delay in repayments of their loans but would also encourage other defaulters to delay repayments. This will defeat the government's efforts for recovering loans from the defaulters.
Clause 91(e) of RPO 2008, empowering the EC to take measures against the candidates for violating the code of conduct, should not be cancelled. If it is cancelled, there will be no official procedure to make the candidates comply with the code of conduct. It will also weaken the EC. After all we are striving to strengthen the EC so that it can deliver better service to democracy by ensuring free, fair and credible elections.
It is understood that immediately after transfer of power to the newly elected government the CTG advisers will go back to their old jobs. We are not yet sure as to what may happen to the reformative steps taken during the last 22 months. We hope that none of our political parties will oppose continuation of these measures because they promote public interest.
Our business community, which seems to be assisting the government in its hour of need, has come up with some good suggestions for smooth and peaceful economic development. These may be examined carefully by the next government, which may try to accept them as far as possible.
Needless to say, the government cannot ignore the suggestions, which will ultimately help the nation in generating new employment that is needed for reducing poverty, political and social tension. Street demonstrations, confinements and hartals tarnish the image of the country in addition to creating serious impediments to economic growth.
Apart from adopting the suggestions from the business community, the new government may have to begin work immediately on the following:
- Balancing power the between the offices of the president and the prime minister.
- Undertaking administrative reform.
- Appointing of Ombudsman as per Article 77 of the Constitution.
- Completing the separation of the judiciary from the executive.
- Arranging devolution of power to local governments to enable them to contribute toward strengthening the base of democracy in the country.
- Strengthening the ACC to prevent and control corruption.
- Arranging trial of war criminals.
- Adopting measures to empower women in all sectors.
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