‘BD now has weakest Opposition in absence of AL’

Bangladesh now has the weakest opposition party in its history because the Awami League is out of active politics as current opposition parties,  Jamaat-e-Islami lacks confidence and the National Citizen Party (NCP) is still too small, according to Mirza M Hasan, Senior Research Fellow at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD).

He made the remarks while presenting the keynote paper at a day-long conference titled Current Status and Future of Democracy in Bangladesh at the BRAC Centre in Mohakhali on Monday.

He said Bangladesh was now seeing "a mild version of repression". He warned that a more serious form could appear within a year if the current political trend continues.

Answering a question from British journalist David Bergman, Hasan said political competition in Bangladesh was still linked to power and violence.

He said the BNP and the NCP were already in conflict on the streets. According to him, political access depends on power and groups and without the ability to use force political parties cannot secure that access.

Speaking about the BNP's relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami, Hasan said both sides were waiting to see how the political situation develops.

He said Jamaat was trying to present itself as a polite and liberal opposition party but it was not taking an active political role.

Hasan said Bangladesh now had its weakest opposition. He said the Awami League was no longer active in politics, Jamaat lacked confidence and the NCP was still a small political party.

He said a stable political system could only be built if the ruling group shared political and economic benefits with other political groups. He added that this had not happened in Bangladesh, which was why political conflict continued.