Sadeq Khan

Political wind in the country is now steadily blowing in one direction. The focus is set on general election, by end-2008 in accordance with the caretaker government’s roadmap. Major political parties, including Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have welcomed the announcement of the date for elections to the ninth parliament. Referring to official communication he received from the Chief Election Commissioner, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed announced that the ninth parliamentary elections would be held on December 18 and upazila polls on December 24 and 28. The face-saving formula of holding upozilla polls within 6 to 10 days of parliamentary polls is designed to satisfy the major political parties’ demand that the caretaker government abides by its constitutional mandate to hold general election before any more local elections. It also accommodates the caretaker government’s determination to execute a “non-partisan” conduct of upozilla elections before the next political government can settle down in office to be able to influence the local elections. Parliamentarians in this country are in general averse to local leadership growing except under their own shadows. Enactment and conduct of upozilla elections have been delayed and deferred by successive governments since the revival of the parliamentary system of government under one pretext or another. Clamour continues to be voiced by some civil society bodies that no scope of further deferment of upozilla polls at the whim of political governments should be left by the caretaker regime. But the major political parties firmly put their feet down, demanding national polls to be held ahead of other elections. Now that upozilla polling dates have been fixed after the general election, major parties are still expressing reservations that it may not be practicable to hold the upozilla polls right on the heels of national polls. They are saying it might also prove risky, as local conflicts arising from hustings of upozilla candidates might disturb peaceful conduct of national assembly election. But such reservations, “subject to further negotiations”, are not likely to create whirlwinds to derail the general election, whose date and expected schedule, for which soundings have been made indicating allowance of minimum 3 weeks’ time for hustings, are broadly acceptable to all parties. Subject to some adjustments and possible extra accommodations for alliance partners, the two mainstream parties appear ready for elections sticking to nominations made constituency-wise before the cancelled election date of January 22, 2007. The proposed delimitation of constituencies have been put in limbo for the time being, to accommodate express objections from BNP and also from smaller parties on both sides of the national divide.
Yet pockets of depression exist that might develop into a political storm and demolish public expectations. All the parties are asking for withdrawal of the state of emergency right now. The Chief Adviser has promised that certain emergency provisions would either be lifted or relaxed to help the electoral process. The clamour for withdrawal of emergency right now is presumed to be emanating from a desire to obtain room for legal motions, otherwise constrained by emergency provisions, for release and possible participation in polls of “political” detainees as well as convicts preferring appeal against their sentences. The main sticking point of discord may turn out to be the rejection by the four party alliance led by BNP of the Representation of the People Ordinance 2008 as framed by the Election Commission. The BNP also refused to accept the terms of registration for political parties as drawn up by the Election Commission, but said it would register with the EC as a political party if the terms were relaxed. The EC has since relaxed it terms on condition of binding terms for fulfilment of basic reforms within six months of the date of first sitting of the next parliament. Whether or not the new terms for registration of political parties are satisfactory to the BNP, observers suggest that BNP will register, keeping in abeyance the party’s reservations for future challenges in court as well as possible corrective steps in the parliament. The same strategy may apply to its reservations in relation to the Representation of the People Ordinance as amended by the present government on the recommendation of the Election Commission. Indeed the BNP has not retracted its express distrust of the present EC and the Chief Election Commissioner, and continue to question the bonafides and efficiency of EC dealings including flaws found in the electoral rolls with pictures.
The Awami League, on the other hand, has declared its endorsement of “all the reforms” made by the Election Commission, and went so far as to chide the BNP for the latter’s reluctance in accepting those reforms. Some learned analysts suggest that with or without reservations, the two competing alliances led by the BNP and the Awami League respectively will certainly join the polls, as by their own assessment of field level support, both sides are fairly sanguine about their singular success in the coming polls. Some smaller parties in between, particularly those aligned with elitists and do-gooders of the civil society and third party attempts by “all the King’s men” have in the process feel “left in the lurch” and are loudly condemning the compromises with corrupt politicians and practices that the caretaker government is carrying on succumbing to populist pressures and abandoning their big talks and lofty ideas.
The momentum for general election has been built up, others believe, not from any concerted action or consistent position of political parties or leaders, old or new, but from a groundswell of mute demand for change of guards. People are fed up with inaction or inadequate action of the incumbent administration with its bureaucratic red-tape and habitual inaccessibility. Common people want public representatives, their own elected persons, to be in charge of local and national affairs, so that the economy and the administration may again regain necessary dynamics of growth and equity of governance.