Lift ban on indoor politics

As of now the political parties are not being able to conduct discussion within their own parties on political and party reforms, as that fall within the ambit of political activity. It is therefore no wonder that the process of political reform has been stalled since no party would be willing to involve in reform dialogue with the EC without indulging in the exercise within the party first. The elemental link between the two must not be lost sight of, since that may forestall the government's plan to conform to the dateline of holding the next general election that was suggested by the chief adviser himself.

In recognizing the need to hold the election as soon as possible there are two major issues that the EC must be seized with at the moment. One is the issue of voter list while the other is that of political reform.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

On the matter of voter list we are constrained to point out that, as it is, the EC is not moving as fast as they should. There are several components of the issue, all of which appear to be shrouded in confusion. The EC, even after almost three months of its reconstitution, has not determined in what form the voter list will appear finally. We feel that the most important factor in this matter is that of time, and unless that is considered seriously it may prove to be a severe impediment to holding the election before 2008 is out.

On the other issue of political reforms we are heartened by the fact that the EC has initiated dialogue with members of the civil society. But one must appreciate the fact that no real reform measures can be finalised and indeed initiated without having dialogue with the political parties, which are one of the most important stake holders. Thus, lifting the ban on indoor politics immediately is a sine qua non for starting the process of holding the general election on time, as set by this government.

In this regard our request to the political parties would be that while they keep their focus on the election their main attention ought to be devoted to electoral and political reforms realising that there is a tremendous demand for such reforms. We don't want to go back to the old confrontational and highly personalised politics.