Editorial
The BNP's ultimatum to government
All parties have a responsibility to ensure a return to democracy
THE chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has served notice on the caretaker government that it must meet its four demands within 48 hours if it wants the party to participate in the elections. The notice, which is really an ultimatum, comes as an unfortunate surprise at a time when the country is in the mood for elections and other political parties are busy finalising their preparations for the elections. More importantly, when the government has been taking steps to accommodate the demands and desires of the political parties, especially of BNP, it makes little sense for any party now to issue ultimatum to have their way. The Election Commission, in order to ensure the participation of all parties, agreed to reschedule the date for submission of nomination papers. It also made changes in the timetable of the upazilla polls. The government has also engaged in serious, concerted dialogue with the parties. In other words, to date the government and the EC have been even-handed in the way they have gone about planning the general elections.
The fact of the matter is that today the nation and all political parties, except the BNP, are ready for a democratic exercise that will lead to the return of popular government in Bangladesh. The question that one can now logically put before Begum Zia and her party colleagues is whether they are ready to help the process of a return to meaningful democracy. The demands that the BNP leader made on Monday are those that have largely been echoed by other parties, major and otherwise. But those parties have not made a meeting of their demands a precondition for participation at the polls. Moreover, even the caretaker government has been giving out positive indications regarding its attitude to the difficulties involved, such as a lifting of the emergency, et cetera. Such being the objective reality, it should now be for all political parties and especially the BNP to avoid indulging in a blame game. Besides, even before the polls have commenced, it is politically wrong and morally unfair to apprehend an election result that might not be to the liking of a particular group or party.
No party should hold the electoral process, or for that matter, transition to an elected government hostage to its demands taking advantage of the accommodative spirit of the caretaker government and EC and the people's yearning for participation of all political parties in the election. Of course, the BNP has scaled down its number of demands from seven to four which we commend, but this does not go with the attitude of issuing an ultimatum. We believe there should be flexibility on both sides for the sake of not only ensuring an election participated by all parties but also for smooth post-election governance.
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