No Nonsense
All politics is local
The role of local elected government (LEG) in the post Sidr disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts is being direly missed -- not that the army, the government, and local appointed public officials have shown any lack of urgency in the desperate situation. What I'm talking about, though, is the presence and reach of local elected officials, similar to "first aid" in a medical emergency.
Zafar Imam (minister in both Ziaur Rahman and Hussain Ershad's cabinet) was right when he told me that an effective LEG is the first official machinery to attend to some of the immediate sufferings of the disaster victims with water, food, and shelter, ahead of such supplies reaching from distant city locations.
He observed that for the first time in 36 years there was no measurable misappropriation of relief materials -- unlike in the past, when only about 30% reached the victims. Zafar Imam argued that the influence of national level politicians on local affairs was the primary reason why local government was often hamstrung in rendering service to the community and, thus, became ineffective in local affairs over time.
Thomas "Tip" O'Neill -- a consummate politician and a longtime Speaker of the US House of Representatives -- once said: "All politics is local." He was elucidating how the issues and concerns of citizens in towns and cities around the country influence the policies and actions of their lawmakers in Washington. He was telling his audience that electoral races for public offices at the local level are where real democracy is at work.
Had he won in his home state, Tennessee -- the state he represented all his years in the US Congress -- vice president Al Gore would have been president-elect Gore in 2000, with or without Florida.
So why did Al Gore lose Tennessee on November 7, 2000?
Bill Jenkins, from historically Republican upper east Tennessee, remarked in an Associated Press report that "Tennessee didn't leave Gore. Gore left Tennessee." He was referring to Gore's changing stance on gun control and abortion as bellwethers. Gore lost the presidential election because he forgot that "all politics is local."
The statement "all politics is local" may sound like a platitude and a generalisation to politicians in Bangladesh -- but it is not. It's a truism not often recognised by rent seeking politicians, particularly those attracted by the glamour of being known as "MP Shaheb" or "Montri Mohodoy."
Since the installation of the post 1/11 CTG, Western politicians and dignitaries have been pushing for restoration of elected government in Bangladesh, sooner rather than later. Their pre-1/11 concerns were free and fair election and combating corruption. Although, most western governments are supporting the efforts of this CTG towards achieving both goals, we have rarely heard them emphasising the role and urgency of instituting an effective LEG, where the democracy takes roots.
In all politics, local politics form the political articulation of the local community. This is where:
* Policies influencing local issues are formulated and executed.
* Citizens interact with officials to solve their problems.
* Citizens articulate their aspirations and values through political participation.
* Officials, both elected and appointed, are recruited.
As an integral element for delivering public service in cities and communities in advanced democracies, local government plays a central role in the discharge of "good governance." Recognising that local government is inherently more democratic and responsive to the needs of the people, South Africa, in 1997, restructured its local governments and made them the epicenter of developmental activities.
This restructuring marked a significant reversal of postcolonial models of state-led development in Africa. Until the infusion of structural adjustments in local administration, state-led development was also at the heart of the development programs of the international financial institutions.
In Australia and USA, local government is a stepping-stone to federal and state politics. It's a platform on which the craft of politics are acquired, and there are copious opportunities to participate.
How many of our politicians elected to the national assembly have any prior experience of working in local governments? Not too many -- probably none.
Once elected to the parliament, their link with the political offices at the local level is maintained primarily for "carving a cut" from development and infrastructure related projects.
The Election Commission's original plan to hold local election before national election was a great idea -- one that would keep the influence of the winning party on local election to a minimum. Obviously, the same party winning majority both at the national and local levels would bring back the misrule of the corrupt.
Yielding to politicians' demand to hold national election ahead of the local is a trap -- one that'd bring back chaos and disorder in local elections, reminiscent of the mayoral election in Chittagong and other big cities.
Stripping-off of any official role of MPs in the local government in their constituencies is another splendid idea, one that'd make local government officials much more effective while freeing them from courting their MPs.
Local elections are about, and should be, local affairs. Election issues at the local level should remain independent of national issues, although there could be cross-over penetrations of national political issues.
The Election Commission under the leadership of CEC Dr. Shamsul Huda is as good and innovative as it can get -- its proactive character is unique in the nation's 36 years history. Everyone, at home and abroad, expects the CEC to deliver to the country a parliament "of the people, by the people, for the people."
Dr. Abdullah A. Dewan is Professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University.
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