Editorial
'All-party' government in name only
Can't break the impasse
IN a unilateral move, Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has presented before the nation an 'all-party' government, which is but a variant of the old cabinet with some new faces.
It would be a misnomer to use the rubric 'all-party' for this government. The entire process leading to the final stage of forming this election-time government was arbitrary and marked by political opportunism.
First comes the PM's announcement that she would form an all-party government to hold the next general election without explaining what its constitutional basis was.
Even so she invited the opposition BNP to join such government knowing fully well that the latter was demanding a non-partisan interim arrangement to hold the general election. Shouldn't she have first settled the issue, preferably through dialogue with opposition, before inviting them?
And now she has inducted ministers from the four parties of the ruling alliance including some Jatiya Party elements. Curiously, Ershad's Jatiya Party is appearing as a new entity, claiming severance with the AL-led Mohajote. The implications cannot be lost on any keen political observer.
The entire exercise leaves open the question, how the move can be construed to be aimed to hold a credible and inclusive election.
Keeping BNP out in the cold cannot lend legitimacy or credibility to the election to be so held. We urge the ruling party and the opposition to engage each other for satisfactory resolution of the ever-deepening political impasse. The nation eagerly awaits that salubrious outcome.
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