Meeting election pledges
THE grand-alliance led by AL has returned to power with a stunning landslide victory. It is not only the victory of an alliance, it is also the victory of democracy and rejection of corruption, violence and religious extremism. It has given a clear indication of the growing strength of women and the new generation of voters (33%), and has sent a strong message that people have not forgotten the politics of assassination and the failure of the alliance government to bring the criminals to justice.
Our people deserve congratulations for voting peacefully and in a disciplined manner. Begum Zia's observation that the election was a farce is certainly not based on solid facts. It was rather an outburst of a highly frustrated political leader. This is unfortunate because it shows disrespect for the judgment of the people.
The total rejection of the commendations of election observers is also immature. Observations like "elections were conducted in a remarkably peaceful environment with no instance of bias toward any party by the government," "the elections were administered and took place in a peaceful environment resulting in a credible electoral process," and "elections were conducted with integrity and credibility" were based on close observations.
The general impression about the election is that its hallmarks were professionalism, transparency and credibility. Except for some technical flaws, it has reached international standards. To some observers, it was the best election they had ever observed. The favourable impression of foreign observers will certainly brighten the image of Bangladesh.
The Election Commission successfully responded to the challenges of delimiting constituencies, sorting out candidates, reprinting ballots to show respect to court verdicts, setting up polling booths and distributing ballot boxes and papers, and flawless coordination among bodies concerned shows high commitment and competence of all concerned with the operation. Special mention should be made about the preparation of an authentic voter list with photographs, and the maintenance of strict neutrality of the police force.
This astounding success of the grand alliance was not just because of the incumbency factor or the people's desire for a change. In fact, the people have given a clear message about their disgust for what happened during 2001-06. Broadly speaking, the people, particularly the younger generation of voters (who constitute about 54%), desired change and Awami League was given the challenging task of bringing it.
Awami League has mentioned five priorities in its manifesto. They are, controlling prices of essentials, combating corruption, overcoming the crises of energy and electricity, alleviation of poverty and establishing good governance. Meeting these pledges, no doubt, will be a tough job. However, with honest efforts and commitment, it appears that it may not be impossible for AL.
Reduction of prices of essential commodities is a complex and difficult task. Following international prices of oil and some other imported items like fertilizer, edible oil, wheat and rice, may make reducing the prices easier. With political stability, and absence of corruption, terrorism and extortion, the investment climate will improve (resulting in increase in employment). With the possible lowering of the price of energy some of our major export items will be more competitive in the current global economic down-turn.
The new government will have to concentrate on increasing employment. It may initiate action on introducing an employment generating scheme on the Indian pattern to ease the current employment crisis. It is true that due to the current global economic depression the international labour market is shrinking. Because we export mainly low-wage workers, it is expected that remittance will not be affected significantly.
People have voted for AL with the expectation that their lives will be peaceful, and free from corruption and religious terrorism. Thus, the government will have to move swiftly, cautiously and efficiently to fulfill the pledges in the election manifesto.
It has no time for respite because it will have to proceed on in a period of the greatest global economic depression since the 1930s, with a not-so-efficient bureaucracy and a dearth of proper technical hands. More attention must be given to merit and competence for a change in our seniority-based society. This is the clear demand of new generation of voters. It would be interesting to see how much this is reflected in the new cabinet of the grand alliance.
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