The political parties have long been demanding an election roadmap. There are a lot of arguments for and against this. Some say reforms should be carried out first and then the election. Other says trials should be held first and foremost.
Addressing the nation on Tuesday, Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus said that the election would be held any day on the first half of April next year. Based on this announcement, he said that the election commission would provide a detailed roadmap in due time.
So that means now there is a timeframe for the election. However, that does not mean an end to the political debate on the issue. On the very night that the chief advisor made this announcement, BNP's standing committee held a meeting and declared that the people were disappointed and angry. April is not a month suitable for the election. It should be held in December this year, by all means.
In his speech the chief advisor said, we will be able to complete our incomplete tasks and soon prepare a full-fledged July Charter, leaving a new roadmap for the country. He said, from the experience of the national consensus commission, the possibility of a new political culture has emerged. If we can give this a permanent shape by means of the forthcoming election, he said, then we will be able to tackle all political crises on the future.
If a new political culture is to be built, the stakeholders must be brought on board. For them, electoral calculations often outweigh the development of a culture of national consensus and democratic politics. During Eid, leaders from various parties are visiting potential electoral constituencies to engage with the public. Very few central leaders remain in Dhaka. Typically, they only visit their constituents during Eid or election seasons. Most of them are “non-resident” public representatives.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has said the chief advisor’s announcement has reassured the nation. The National Citizens' Party (NCP) has stated that if effective steps are taken to implement the July Charter, the July Declaration, and the proposed reforms, they have no objection to elections being held within the announced timeframe.
Khelafat Majlish welcomed the chief advisor’s announcement. Islami Andolon thanked him. AB Party expressed its confidence in the announcement. Ganosamhati Andolon also considered the announcement a positive step.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convener of Nagorik Oikya, said that announcing the date has removed one source of anxiety. However, he questioned, “What was the problem with holding the election in December?”
BNP has firmly rejected the idea of an April election. According to them, elections in the first half of April would face weather-related challenges and coincide with Ramadan, making campaigning and election activities difficult. They argue that this could pose as a legitimate reason for postponing the election.
BNP alleges that although the nonpartisan interim government talks of forging national consensus, it is instead influenced by a specific political group. In doing so, it has disregarded the opinions of most political parties, thus raising questions about its impartiality. This understandably causes public concern over the possibility of a free and fair election. In meetings with the national consensus commission, BNP and most other parties proposed holding elections by December. Jamaat had proposed April. In the end, the government accepted Jamaat’s proposal, another source of BNP’s discontent.
Regarding the proposal to establish a humanitarian corridor for sending relief to the ports and Rakhine in Chattogram, BNP commented that the chief advisor, in his lengthy speech, brought up matters like ports and corridors, issues that, by his own claim, fall outside the three mandates of the interim government. BNP further stated that the chief advisor’s language exceeded the bounds of political civility.
It is evident there is a deep lack of trust between the two sides. The interim government believes that elections should take place only after emerging from the prevailing "war-like" situation. BNP, on the other hand, argues that the longer it takes, the worse the situation will become, eventually making elections unfeasible for the government.
If the government can't resolve the stalemate of just one city corporation, how will in untangle the knot of the national elections?
The chief advisor has said that the interim government took office based on three mandates: reform, justice, and elections. He expressed confidence that by the next Eid-ul-Fitr, the government would reach a satisfactory stage in both reform and justice.
In his speech, Muhammad Yunus referred to claims that Bangladesh had provided a corridor for Myanmar’s Rakhine state as “entirely false.” He accused those who fabricate tales to mislead and disturb the people of Bangladesh of being responsible for this false narrative.
On the topic of the humanitarian channel to Rakhine, the chief advisor defended the proposal by saying that during the UN Secretary General’s visit to Dhaka last March, the UN had suggested establishing a relief channel to address the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine. It was said that such a channel would help facilitate the repatriation of the Rohingya. However, the matter has remained at the proposal stage.
The government has held discussions with political parties on several nationally important issues. However, on topics like the Chattogram port and the humanitarian channel to Rakhine, no such discussions were held.
If the government responds to critics, including political parties, by accusing them of spreading disinformation, it will only contribute to a more disruptive electoral environment.
There is valid reason for public concern over the humanitarian corridor to Rakhine. At a meeting in Bangkok, a Myanmar government minister announced that 180,000 Rohingyas were eligible for repatriation. Not only has there been no progress on their return, but more than a hundred thousand additional Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh since then.
The chief advisor said that a "war-like" situation prevailed in the country, adding that the fallen fascists and their associate home and abroad, were trying to foil the concerted efforts to build a new Bangladesh at every step. They are engaged in all sorts of disinformation.
On the day that he addressed the nation, BNP leader Ishraque Hossain said, while inspecting the Eidgah grounds (Eid prayer congregation grounds), "No administrator or advisor can sit in the Nagar Bhaban. If any administrative problem crops up there, if necessary we will former a revolutionary Dhaka council and run the Nagar Bhaban with the former commissioners and councillors of Ward 75, the voters, eminent persons and the principals of various institutions. But there is no turning back."
He had delivered a strong message to the government. For three weeks this Nagar Bhaban (Dhaka South City Corporation building) has been locked. The city corporation employees have joined the political activists in this movement. Under the circumstances, thousands of Dhaka residents are being deprived of routine services. But the government is taking no measures to resolve the situation.
So are we to get two "governments" -- Ishraque's "revolutionary council" for Dhaka South City Corporation, and the interim government for the rest of Bangladesh?
If the government can't resolve the stalemate of just one city corporation, how will in untangle the knot of the national elections?
* Sohrab Hassan is joint editor of Prothom Alo and a poet
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir