Editorial
Why October 15?
Fixing that date smacks of bad faith
WE would like to give the BNP the benefit of the doubt and to assume that it is approaching its differences with the government and the EC in good faith and with the intent of resolving all outstanding issues.
According to Adviser Anwarul Iqbal, the government agreed to a meeting and suggested that the two sides sit together on October 8, as time is of the essence. The BNP's refusal to meet with the government before October15, the deadline set for party registration for the upcoming elections, thus seems to us to suggest that the party is operating in bad faith and lacks sincerity when it comes to resolving the differences.
BNP may have genuine grievances and grounds for dissatisfaction with both the EC and the government, that there are issues which need to be resolved to its satisfaction before it can participate in the December elections. However, these grievances and issues can only be resolved once the BNP actually sits with the government to resolve their differences.
Thus, when the BNP puts off the meeting until the day fixed as the registration deadline (so that it will be unable to comply with the deadline), it smacks of the worst kind of game playing and the politics of brinkmanship, rather than the statesmanship we would like to see from one of Bangladesh's two major political parties, one that held power twice since 1991.
Indeed, the BNP's consistent harping on minor points such as mode and manner of communication to it from the EC and its delaying and foot-dragging when to comes to setting dates to meet seems to suggest that it is not interested in finding a solution to the obstacles on the path to elections, but rather use them to make the election uncertain.
At a time like this, when the people have been waiting patiently for almost two years for elections, and are eagerly anticipating the reintroduction of elected government and democratic rule, this kind of approach surely cuts little ice with the voters.
The BNP's transparent maneuver to try and push the date of its meeting with the government beyond that set for party registration, and therefore throw a spanner in the works, seem to us to be nothing more than a ploy that is unworthy of the party and unhelpful to the goal of participatory elections. We hope the party will reconsider its stance.
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