Beneath The Surface
Expectations
AT long last, the nation heaved a sigh of relief. I am, indeed, happy to know that a new government will take over next year. The overdue election was supposed to be held on December 29, 2008. But what are these "other things" that may not remain as they ought to be? These "other things" have two sources of origin.
First, the EC and the government and second, the political parties. In the recent past, the EC had failed to show that it was truly independent. Its reliance on government directives made a mockery of its credibility in ensuring a free and fair election. Occasionally, it has also shifted from its earlier position. For example, the RPO stipulates that parties will choose candidates from a panel selected by the grass-root levels of the organisations. To our knowledge, the BNP-Jamat alliance did not adhere to this.
The EC had earlier declared that the dissident candidates would not be allowed to join another party and get nomination, but that has happened. Till now, we are not aware of any actions taken by the EC for these deviations.
Therefore, there could be ample scope to suspect that the EC has been changing its goal post to suit the interest of particular groups. We can only hope that it will be thus far, and no further.
On the other hand, the government came under fire with its baseless comment that the two major political parties had failed to reach a common stance on election date. Reportedly, both the parties reacted sharply to this.
The political parties should see that post-January 11 expectations of people are religiously upheld. What are the expectations?
First, money and muscle should not dominate nominations.
Second, political parties should display a sense of mutual respect throughout the whole process of election. Tolerance should be the key to their pursuit of goals.
Third, political parties should have the culture of accepting defeat. After all, only one side will win. The winner should also ensure that magnanimity comes from victory. Both winner and loser should work together in parliament.
Fourth, the parliament should become the heart of all national debates and centre of complaints. The nation does not want the street to be the centre of agitations any more.
Fifth, institutions like ACC, PSC, and the judiciary etc. should be kept out of political interventions. They should be made more powerful, independent and credible. In the past, especially during the previous regime, these institutions were allegedly ruined under the boots of the politically selected cadres.
One of the greatest lessons of the recent past is that politicisation of institutions might bring in heavy casualty for the party that does so.
And last but not the least, rightly or wrongly, there is a notion that political parties do not want local institutions to be strengthened due to immense opposition from MPs. This government wanted to hold upazila elections before the parliament election, but they will be held under a new political government.
Suspicions loom large about holding of that election, based on the past performance of political parties. The expectation this time is that all these assumptions would be incorrect and the new government would duly hold upazila elections on the due date. The reason for our backwardness -- or poverty -- is the lack of local voices in project planning, monitoring and implementation.
This is an age of decentralisation of power, where local level institutions should have elected bodies so that the voices of local people heard can be heard. No matter how many projects we chalk out to help people in rural areas, only the presence of strong institutions at local level could yield fruit.
The expectations that we described above are not new, but have never been fulfilled. We hope that the political parties will come to their senses and deliver the goods as expected.
The fulfillment of these expectations in right earnest would serve political parties better, not to speak of people. After all, a modern society cannot live without politics and political parties. Politicians must realise that the time has come for abandonment of the past mindset and beginning of a new era.
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