Current Affairs
The Same Old Formula
Photo: Anisur Rahman
Photo: Alam
Politicians in our country love to speak of the past whenever they find something to feel proud about it and also as a weapon to castigate opponents. Whenever they are in power, they hate to take lesson from history to decide their next course of actions. The incumbent Awami League-led government's political strategy has once again proved this. The government of Sheikh Hasina seems to be determined to follow the very old formula used by previous governments in recent history to hold a one-sided general election sans the participation of major opposition parties.
The government however wants to make such a one-sided election credible. The ruling AL and the government have been trying to convince some small and obscure parties to participate in the upcoming general election. This unsustainable and unrealistic effort is in the wake of the BNP-led 18 party opposition combine's refusal to join the polls under the current government.
So the government policymakers have been trying to ensure that a good number of political parties join the next battle of ballots. Some newspaper reports say that the government has made a move to split the BNP-led 18-party-alliance to bring some minor parties form the opposition camp to the election. It's unlikely, if the government makes an effort to bring some BNP leaders to the election.
How many parties will join the polls to make it participatory? What should be the turn out to make it a credible election? Were the previous regimes able to succeed in such missions? Will the present government be successful in its effort?
Take the February 15, 1996 farcical election. Awami League, Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, left alliance and other known parties boycotted the sixth parliamentary election held on February 15, 1996 under the then BNP-led government. Yet as many as 43 political parties including the BNP had joined the farcical ballots. The BNP-led government had depended on these minor parties to make the election credible showing the participation of more than four dozen political parties in it.
The then BNP-led government allegedly distributed money among these parties to contest the controversial election. The then government was successful only in holding the general election People did not respond to the election as only 20.97 percent voters cast their vote.
The election suffered from credibility. This fueled further street agitation by the opposition parties that boycotted the election. Thus, the Jatiya Sangsad formed through the farcical election got only a month's life. Before being dissolved, the parliament hurriedly passed a constitution amendment bill introducing the non-party caretaker government system in line with the demand of the AL, Jatiya and others. The tenure of the government led by Khaleda also came to an end following the dissolution of the Jatiya Sangsad that had lasted only for 11 days. And a fresh parliamentary election was held on June 12, 1996.
The then BNP-led government held the February 15 election ignoring public opinion. Majority of the people were in favour of the introduction of the election time non-party caretaker government system though the BNP was dead against the idea.
Take another instance of a one-sided election. HM Ershad-ld government held the 1988 parliamentary polls amid a boycott of the AL, BNP and all other major and minor political parties. Only eight political parties joined the election, which was rigged in favour of Ershad's party. The voter turn out was 57.90 percent.
But the election could not get legitimacy as the majority of the people had rejected the election. Military strongman Ershad, who cared little about democracy, could not survive for long. He was forced to step down in 1990.
The BNP did not take lessons from the 1988 election. So it did not hesitate to hold the February 15, 1996 polls. It had desperately tried to force the then president Iajuddin Ahmed-led caretaker government to proceed with the January 22, 2007 parliamentary election even after a boycott of the AL, Jatiya Party and other parties. The desperate move triggered a political disaster. In face of violent street agitation by the AL and other parties, the then president declared a state of emergency in January 2011, suspending the January 2007 parliamentary polls and installing an army backed caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed that ruled the country for around two years.
The country is again set to have a one-sided general election. Will the AL be able to hold an election without the participation of the BNP? Or will history repeat itself?
The participation of some little known parties in the general election will not yield anything positive for the AL-led government. Isn't the AL damaging its future?
The possibility of resolving the political crisis on the mode of an election time government is almost zero. Both the government and the opposition remain stuck to their guns. The possibility of a breakthrough in the coming weeks seems slighter than ever.
The writer is Senior Reporter, The Daily Star.
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