Post Breakfast
Running the last lap
TWO hundred and forty thousand transparent ballot boxes required for the forthcoming polls have started arriving. The first shipment of many is already here. The Election Commission apparently ordered them about six months ago and our development partners stepped in to finance the import.
The long marathon towards the holding of our national parliamentary election has finally reached its home stretch. We are now running the last lap. It has been a tortuous task. We finally have a date for the next round of elections -- for the Jatiyo Sangsad and the Upazilla -- and "here lies the rub" as Shakespeare would have put it. The process of awarding the Holy Grail has again raised questions.
Various political parties are still bickering about different factors -- the chronological details pertaining to the holding of the upazilla elections, the continuation of the emergency provisions and the finer points related to the registration of political parties ahead of the elections.
The Awami League appears to have kicked off its preparation for the JS polls and has publicly announced that it is reviving and rearranging the different election related committees so that they can start working more effectively on election related issues. It has also mildly suggested that the schedule for holding the upazilla elections are too near the Jatiyo Sangsad polls and could have been delayed. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies have been more critical. They want re-scheduling of the upazilla polls and are concerned that existing dates will hamper the holding of a fair upazilla election. Both major parties have, however, welcomed the December 18 date for the parliamentary polls.
I believe that the Election Commission, through the schedule, has once again proven its obdurate, inflexible bureaucratic approach towards the discharging of its responsibilities. One could be charitable and suggest that the Election Commission psychologically feels that if it does not complete the upazilla process within a few days of the Jatiyo Sangsad election and before the end of this year, there is every chance that the newly elected government, after taking over its responsibilities in the New Year, will postpone the completion of the upazilla process. That might be so. In that case, the date for the parliamentary polls could have been fixed in the second week of December to give some breathing time to the different political parties to engage constructively in the upazilla elections. The other alternative could have been the holding of the first phase of the upazilla election simultaneously with the parliamentary polls.
One can only hope that the Election Commission, following the straight and narrow path, has not been influenced by extraneous influence. The Commission, in that case, would have demonstrated once again the disappointing precept that not being totally independent has its dire aspects.
The nation has many aspirations. We want a system where there will be accountability, responsive governance, non-politicisation of institutions, and debate within the Parliament rather than confrontation on the streets. At least, that was the matrix that we set out to create after the much-hailed January 11, 2007 silent revolution. I am afraid, our success, till now (other than the revision of the electoral rolls and the initiation of the Identity Card process) has been marginal. We seem to be groping forward, making compromises at every step. This has inspired rumour-mongering and made the situation less transparent. Accusations are also surfacing from different corners that there is a hidden agenda, and that the entire governance process is being directed towards this end.
Recently, I came across an interesting leaflet being distributed in front of gates of mosques after Friday prayers, and also being distributed free with certain daily newspapers. Issued by a group calling itself the "Vigilant Citizens," it has expressed serious dissatisfaction with the manner in which our higher judiciary has been treating cases of corruption, particularly of high profile persons involved with politics. They have described the whole process as a parody rather than an example of rule of law. In this context, they have particularly highlighted the activities of two judges dispensing justice from Court No. 22 of the High Court Annexe building. It has been alleged that in the last three months the High Court has granted bail to 181 persons, and of that 143 have been given bail by those sitting in this court. I am sure that the esteemed judges were convinced sufficiently before they handed down their judgments. Nevertheless, it would probably be correct to say that suspicions have surfaced that certain ends are justifying the means. I refer in this context to steps being taken on the wishes of "authorities concerned." This was best exemplified recently in the difficult posture adopted by the attorney general's department in its handling of the prayer of bail for the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in one of the cases filed against her.
I will now touch upon a few other areas associated with the electoral process, and the spanners that need to be taken out of the electoral wheel by the responsible authorities in the Election Commission.
I refer first to two vital tasks which have come under focus in both the print and the electronic media -- that of preparing the constituency-wise electoral rolls and finalising the list of polling stations. The scenario has assumed a more complex character because the issue remains suspended, subject to a High Court stay order issued on recent re-demarcation notifications decided upon by the Election Commission. It would be pertinent to point out that the stay order might eventually hamper the possible announcement of detailed poll schedules in early November. This will indirectly also affect the preparation of constituency-wise voters lists.
The second apprehension deals with the requirements introduced in the Representation of the People Ordinance (RPO) promulgated on August 19. The Awami League has categorically demanded that the government and the Election Commission implement the RPO, except for some of the provisions that it has differed with in its dialogue with the Election Commission. In this regard, AL has pointed out that they are opposed to the restrictions about parties having front organisations of professionals and having overseas units. They also want that the 2001 electoral rules (that would have guided the farcical January 22, 2007 elections) be amended to promote a fairer election. They have also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the state of emergency. On the other hand, the BNP and its allies have disagreed with almost all the elements of the RPO. They want all the new provisions scrapped or suspended till the upcoming polls are over. They have, however, agreed that the emergency provisions should be withdrawn.
We have seen more than one mistake by the Election Commission and several debatable compromises by the government (allowing political parleys within the special sub-jail). Ostensibly, these efforts have been taken to ensure a participatory election. However, the knuckling down under BNP pressure is slowly being interpreted as weakness rather than strength and resolve. The last thing that we need is another controversial election with its consequent political instabilities. We have already seen how FDI inflow into Bangladesh (according to the World Investment Report 2008 prepared by Unctad) slipped by 16 percent during 2007 partially because of political uncertainties. We cannot afford such a negative trend. We have to remember that having an exit strategy is important, but not at the cost of principles.
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