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In My View

As election nears, pressure mounts for a participatory poll

Published : Friday, 26 August, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 812
Syed Badiuzzaman
As Bangladesh moves closer to the next general election scheduled to be held by December next year, the incumbent Awami League government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina comes under a mounting pressure from powerful countries and influential development partners for holding a free, fair and participatory poll in the country.

In the past, foreign diplomats used to express their desire about a domestic political matter of Bangladesh usually privately. But nowadays they have started using public forums in the nation's capital to speak their mind loud and clear about what they like to see in the next general election in Bangladesh. But regardless of who says what, these diplomats from friendly nations want Bangladesh to continue its march on a democratic path.

Highlighting the need for an inclusive election in Bangladesh next year, Robert Chatterton Dickson, the British high commissioner in Dhaka said at a local event just a few days ago that they want to see a lot of debates and dialogues among all political organizations including country's two largest political parties -- the ruling  Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP -- for the purpose of holding a genuinely participatory election.

A couple of months ago, Peter Haas, the American ambassador to Bangladesh told diplomatic correspondents of various Bangladeshi media outlets at the National Press Club in Dhaka that "the United States wants to see a free, fair and impartial election in Bangladesh." Ambassador Haas also said that the next election must be "participatory and internationally acceptable." It is quite clear from Peter Haas's speech that the Biden administration will be closely watching the next general election in Bangladesh.

So, the biggest challenge of the newly appointed officials of the Election Commission of Bangladesh will be to make the next general election in the country "participatory and internationally acceptable" as demanded by the US administration and the governments of many friendly nations including those belonging to European Union because the main opposition BNP is not willing to "participate in any election" under the existing arrangements of the current Election Commission with Awami League government in power.

BNP is still adamant in its demand for a caretaker government for conducting the next election in a free, fair and impartial manner. The central leadership of the party has already made it clear that "BNP will not participate in any election in the country without an interim and neutral caretaker government."BNP's General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other top officials have repeatedly said that their party will not participate in the next election under the Awami League government.

Alamgir and many other leaders of his party insist that election will never be free and fair under the Awami League government. They have also accused the current Election Commission of being an extension of the government saying that "the EC is working for the latter and that it is unable to hold a free and fair election in the country." Rejecting Election Commission's plan for using Electronic Voting Machine or EVM in up to 150 constituencies during next election, BNP has demanded traditional ballot papers in all 300 constituencies across the country.  

But BNP's demand for a caretaker government disrupting the constitutional process for conducting the next general election in Bangladesh is a nonstarter for Awami League. "There will be no elections ever again in Bangladesh under any kind of interim caretaker government," said Awami League leaders over and over with emphasis recently. Just a few days ago, Amir Hossain Amu, spokesperson of the 14-party alliance and a top leader of Awami League said in Dhaka that there is no scope of bringing a particular political party to the election by overriding the constitution of the country.

Although the caretaker government system successfully managed several elections in Bangladesh and became part of the constitution of the country in 1996, it doesn't have a good track record in fulfilling its duty to timely hold the election and transfer power to the people's representatives. In 2007, an extra-constitutional military-backed caretaker government was installed in Bangladesh. It governed the country without legitimacy but under intense international pressure it finally transferred power to the democratically elected government following the 2008 parliamentary election.

Since that election, the ruling Awami League has been in power and moving to complete its third consecutive term next year. In 2011, the Awami League government abolished the caretaker government system through the 15th amendment of the constitution. Opposition parties, especially BNP, opposed the amendment. In 2014 election, Awami League candidates were declared victors in 127 of 154 uncontested seats by default due to election boycott by opposition parties making it the least participatory election in the nation's history with only 22 percent voter turnout.

However, the turnout in the 2018 election was just the opposite with 80 percent which surprised even many people of advanced democracies around the world. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Awami League won its third consecutive term with 288 seats while the Jatiya Party became an ineffective opposition in the parliament. Opposition politicians had grievances about the election which was overshadowed by media reports of widespread irregularities and voter intimidation. The 2018 election gave Awami League a lot more seats than it needed destroying the chances of a strong opposition in the parliament.

The fate of next year's election is hanging in the balance. Without participation of all major political parties especially the main opposition BNP, the election will never be participatory. And if an election is not participatory, it cannot be called truly democratic. A democratic election means a participatory election because democracy itself is a participatory process. Why people's participation so important? Because if people do not vote in large number in an election, then that election cannot accurately reflect the choices of the majority people of a country. And if the choices of the majority are not reflected in an election, then the very purpose of election is defeated. There is not much difference between such election and selection.

So, the Awami League government is currently under real pressure to make the next election in Bangladesh participatory, the key to which is being ironically held by its main rival BNP. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has earned a lot of praise from the global community for bringing economic prosperity to Bangladesh and now she faces a major challenge of bringing its arch rival BNP to the election. The prime minister must also provide all necessary tools to the Election Commission for holding a free, fair and credible election that will be nationally and internationally acceptable.


Opposition BNP should also be flexible in its demand for a caretaker government considering the activities of last such government in the country. Instead of holding election in 90 days and transferring power in 120, they worked on their own agenda and ruled the country for almost two years illegally. They also began implementing their so-called "Minus Two" policy by throwing two former prime ministers into prison. BNP should consider participating in the next election if they receive a guarantee from the government for a free, fair and neutral poll that will be monitored nationwide by national and international election observers.

The political parties of Bangladesh must bear in mind that they do not have to be always in the government to serve the country. A party can also serve a nation very well being in the opposition. If a single political party or alliance continues to govern a country term after term in a row without free, fair and internationally acceptable elections, then democracy of that country slides backward giving way to an authoritarian rule.
The writer is a Toronto-based
journalist who also writes for the Toronto Sun as a guest columnist






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