By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel
The General Election in Bangladesh, scheduled to be held in 2024, will decide the fate of the present government led by the Bangladesh Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. Since 2009, Hasina’s Awami League has been Bangladesh’s ruling party. The upcoming election will be a litmus test for the Hasina-led government, which has been accused of human rights violations, corruption, and creeping authoritarianism.
Right after its independence in 1971, Bangladesh’s political journey was fraught with many challenges. It has seen many political ups and downs and traversed a treacherous political journey. Over its six decades of political journey, Bangladesh witnessed a military coup and assassinations of its first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujabir Rehman (Mujib). Further, frequent changes of the guard over the slightest pretext and assault on democratic norms, values and ethos have plagued the rich historical and political legacy of the country.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Bangladesh in January 2024 under the auspices of the Bangladesh Election Commission, the official body responsible for ensuring free and fair elections in the country. The periodic election is the oxygen of democracy. It gives people an opportunity to elect the representatives they like and unseat the ones they dislike. This is the beauty of democracy.
However, it has been a common phenomenon to witness riots, agitation, protest and vandalism just ahead of the election by political parties — both opposition and ruling — to mislead the people. The ruling party will blame the opposition for all prevailing problems and challenges, and vice versa. At present, this is what is happening in Bangladesh.
With the date inching closer remarkably to January 2024 general election, the politicians mainly the opposition have been resorting to violence, protest, vandalism and unethical activities affecting normal life in the capital and other parts of the country. So much so, Bangladesh police had to fire rubber bullets and teargas to disperse stone-throwing crowds blockading main roads in the capital, Dhaka. Transport links between the capital and other parts of the country were heavily disrupted, with trucks and buses stuck in gridlock.
What is even worse is the fact that the opposition in Bangladesh is demanding a caretaker government ahead of the January 2024 general election. The opposition argues that the Election Commission will be influenced by the ruling party and it could alter the election outcome. This is a clear reflection of distrust among political parties putting the hardly-won democracy at high risk.
While Pakistan is making the plan to hand over the power to the caretaker government this month, the voice for restoration of the caretaker government that was abolished in 2011 is gaining currency in Bangladesh. Both countries have provided a vivid example of their inability to foster trust among the parties and institute a credible Election Commission to hold elections in a free and fair manner.
The Bangladesh abolished caretaker government system stipulated a chief advisor and council of advisers. It was introduced in 1990 after the then-opposition refused to take part in any election conducted by the military regime of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. The Mugura by-election. Likewise, the by-election of 1994 which, according to media reports, saw massive vote rigging by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BMP) compelled the opposition party to form a joint front to demand the establishment of the caretaker government system.
However, the then-ruling coalition conducted a one-sided election in 1996 ignoring their demand completely. The opposition did not take part in the election forcing the BNP to introduce the caretaker government system. More than a decade later, the Supreme Court abolished the caretaker government system in 2011.
At a time when the opposition has been mounting pressure to restore the caretaker government system, some experts having in-depth knowledge of the political system articulate that this is nothing but a vivid example of a lack of trust among politicians. They argue that politicians need to trust the democratic institutions, ethos and process they came through and nurtured. Noted Bangladeshi scholar Nadeem Qadir in his review of ‘in fool’s paradise’, says that Bangladesh has transformed socio-economic and politically but our leader’s mindset is guided by ego, stubbornness and rigidity. His statement seems to be substantiated by the recent political development taking place in Bangladesh’s political spectrum.
There is no denying that previous elections in 1996, 2001 and 2008 were held under the caretaker government system. The international observers termed these elections free and fair. Nevertheless, the election under the caretaker government only gives the impression that there is a lack of trust among the parties.
Likewise, no saner mind would disagree with the fact that there is a bitter rivalry between Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and leader of the BNP. Similarly, one would disagree that the nation has been held hostage as a result of their animosity with no sign of relenting. Bangladesh has already faced several political gridlocks right from the day after its independence. The assassination, military takeover and subsequent democratic assaults are nothing new in this part of the world. But, now it cannot afford to see such catastrophes endangering its improving economy. As an immediate neighbor, we wish to see lasting peace and sustainable development. However, this is only possible if agitating oppositions and ruling government come to the negotiation table and sort out our thorny issues and reduce their mistrust.
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