Needed: Honest intentions and bold reforms

The core values of our nation -- as enshrined in our Constitution -- include equality, equity, secularism, human rights, and liberal democracy, with tolerance for all views and beliefs. It is clear that some hideous evil force is out to destroy these values. This evil force is undoubtedly the enemy of our nation and it has clearly pushed us into a future of more serious political confrontation and uncertainty. The urgent task before us therefore is to identify and provide exemplary punishment to the culprits, and also to take effective measures to prevent such cowardly incidents in the future.

In order to identify and take drastic action against the culprits, we obviously need an independent and thorough investigation involving neutral experts from home and abroad. At the same time we must hold those to account whose incompetence and failings allowed such an unbelievable incident to happen in broad daylight and the perpetrators to flee safely without being caught. We must also publish the inquiry reports of all the bomb blasts, arms seizures, and other violent acts of the past, and relentlessly pursue those identified to be responsible.

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As for preventing the recurrence of such an act, we need most the honest intentions and ironclad commitments of our leaders, and also bold reform initiatives to transform our present confrontational and criminalised political culture. For it is our sick political culture that allowed the sinister forces to perpetrate their violent acts time and again and remain behind the scene, which clearly made them increasingly more daring. It is highly likely that the carnage of August 21 was inevitable and represents yet another violent act, although more heinous, of the same group. Had our two major political parties not engaged in blame game and confrontation, and worked together in the past to identify and uproot the evil force, we could perhaps have nipped it in the bud.

Along with political reforms, we also need serious economic reforms to give a better deal to the poor of the country, who have been unfairly and systematically deprived of what was due them. By contrast, the vested interest groups have become increasingly richer over the years

through unfair and dishonest means. According to published government statistics, the share of the national income of the richest 5 per cent of families increased from 18.85 per cent in 1991-92 to 23.62 per cent in 1995-96 and then to 30.66 per cent in 2000. On the contrary, the share of the poorest 5 per cent of families declined from 1.03 per cent to 0.88 per cent to 0.67 per cent during the same period. The discrimination and deprivation of the poor have unfortunately grown worse during the democratic rules of the past decade and are still continuing unabated. As a result, we have managed to create two Bangladeshes -- one for the rich and the other for the poor -- in the same land and under the same flag. This growing disparity is a serious threat to the stability of our nation and it must be redressed urgently.

In our present sick and feudalistic political culture, self-serving, corrupt, irresponsible, extremist, immature, and most of all, incompetent people can and do get elected. To stay in power after election, they often engage in illegal and repressive measures. Frequently violate their oath of office and the Constitution. Use black money and muscle. Practice naked nepotism and compromise the integrity of vital institutions. Engage in graft and corruption. Most of all, give patronage to hooliganism and violence. Today politics in our country has become a "business" and clearly hostage to money and muscle. Our political process in essence created a Frankenstein, which is threatening our very existence as a nation. To overcome this dire condition, we urgently need major, big-bang type reforms -- reforms that might give birth to a new political culture, based on honesty, tolerance, fair play, and most of all, a sense of public service.

In a seminar organised by the World Bank in 2003, its departing Country Director Fred Temple argued: "In concluding my remarks today I would like to focus on ... sets of reforms that might be called 'deep reforms' ... First, reforms of the election system and political parties. The political system is being increasingly commercialised by the way the election system works. Candidates spend huge amounts of money to get elected, and if they win, many use their offices to recoup their investments, with profit. The election system generates the demand for bribes. Candidates from the major political parties violate the campaign spending limitation,

and when the winners become MPs, one of their first acts is to lie, by certifying they didn't exceed the campaign expenditure limit. One motive for running is to gain the protection that being an MP provides from being prosecuted, especially for loan default. The party organisations are not very democratic, and the party inner circles decide who will run. The lack of democracy inhibits the emergence of new leaders ... Second, law and order must be improved, especially by breaking the nexus among some politicians, the police and criminals."

In our country we have come to practice what may be called "one-day democracy" -- the election-day democracy, through which politicians take "lease" of the governmental machinery for five years to loot, plunder and practically do as they wish. In such an environment, the primary goal of politics is to attain power by hook or by crook to serve one's own interest rather than the public interest. The prevailing violence, corruption, property grabbing, nepotism, hooliganism, toll collection and influence of black money -- that is, the criminalisation -- are the inevitable outcome of such leaseholder mentality of our political bosses.

Election in our country has in essence turned into a farce. In elections we often, under the influence of money and muscle, elect people about whom we know very little. Candidates in elections are not at all obligated to give us any information about them. We also do not have any right to seek information about their

background and future plans, even though we have the right to know the names of the ingredients in a bottle of water we purchase. As a result, many criminals, due to their money and muscle power, get elected to national offices and become masters of our future. We as a nation have thus become trapped in vicious cycle of criminalised politics, which earned us the reputation of being the "filthiest" nation in the world. We must urgently try to break this vicious cycle.

Democracy involves governance with the consent of the people. True consent requires information. Getting votes with undue influence and hiding information about the candidate's present and past antecedents does not constitute valid consent and cannot be called democracy.

In the present critical juncture of our nation, we need bold political reforms -- reforms that would not be limited to timid, incremental steps, rather would involve giant leaps. Reforms that would encourage the honest, dedicated and competent people to contest and win elections, and discourage the criminal elements from doing so. More specifically, the reform agenda should include: (1) providing full administrative and financial autonomy to the Election Commission; (2) issuing voter IDs cards and correcting voter rolls; (3) requiring the registration of political parties based on specific performance criteria such as holding regular elections of their leaders, submission of annual audit reports, etc.; and (4) mandating the submission with the nomination

paper of an affidavit containing information on the candidate's income and expenditures, assets and liabilities, past criminal record, etc. With such reforms not only the honest people will have a chance to get elected, it will also pave the way for ushering in a new political culture in our country and may help redress the widespread governance failures.

It must be noted that knowing about the candidate and his/her past is a fundamental right of voters. Article 39(2)(a) of our Constitution guarantees "the right of every citizen to freedom of speech and expression." According to experts, getting information about the candidate is part of the fundamental right of expression because the voter expresses his/her this right through voting.

In conclusion, we commend the Prime Minister for proposing to meet with the leader of the opposition. Such dialogues to discuss important issues are necessary to create a new political culture in our country. We hope that the leader of the opposition will agree to it. In the present critical situation, we feel that representatives of other political parties and some distinguished citizens should also be included in the discussions. However, the proposed dialogue should not be merely to exchange pleasantries and it must not also be a meaningless political stunt. It should be arranged to build consensus for political and economic reforms to combat violence, toll collection, extremism, corruption and deprivations of the common people. Then only we can expect to see a transformation in our political culture and perhaps thwart the evil designs of the hideous force at work. If the politicians do not learn the lesson, the violence will destroy them, and in the process destroy our nation. For, when you fight fire with fire, you end of with ashes.

Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar is Global Vice President and Country Director, The Hunger Project-Bangladesh.