Is AL ready to face challenges for elections and democracy?

I wasn't keeping very well but I still went to attend Awami League's 22nd national council. I have attended the councils of other parties too in the past. Rather than hearing second-hand accounts, I prefer going to the spot, to see and hear the grassroots leaders and activists, talk to them to discern their views.

The invitation letter said I would have to arrive at the council venue by 10:00 in the morning. I reached the Matsha Bhaban intersection at 9:45, only to find the road blocked. I would have to walk the rest of the way and enter the eastern gate of Suhrawardy Udyan. When I reached, the gate was closed.

There was a senior minister standing in front of the gate. The police in charge of security were not opening it. There was a long line of leaders and activists inside and outside. A few minutes later home minister Asaduzzaman Khan arrived and the police opened the gate. We took that opportunity and slipped in too.

It was 10:00am by the time I walked from the gate to the council site. A second tier of security guards said that no one could go any more to the area reserved for guests. They told us to go to the place at the back for delegates. Two editors were with me and they refused to accept this. Like an obedient boy, I went and sat in the back row. I did not get to see the VIPs, but mingled with the delegates and councillors, talked to them and got to know their feelings and thoughts -- anger, hurt, hope.

Preparations had been on for quite a few days for the Awami League council. But from the disorder at the gate and the mismanagement within, it was evident that the leaders had been more interested in photo sessions than in ensuring smooth management of the council. I met a public university teacher there. He burst out in anger, "If they aren't allowing us inside, why did they give us invitation letters?" Many of the guests simply left when they were not allowed inside. A former vice chancellor of a public university, in anger and humiliation, tore up his invitation letter and left. The teacher said, "We are supporters of the party and so can't say anything. You all must write about this."

In the meantime, the announcement was made that Awami League president Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had arrived on stage. A wave of excitement spread through the leaders and activists who have come from outside of Dhaka. From a distance they tried to catch a glimpse of the leaders. There were large TV screens set up at intervals so those far from the stage could see the senior leaders up there.

At the venue I got to speak to quite a few delegates and councillors from Chattogram, Brahmanbaria, Jamalpur, Tangail, Barishal and Dhaka. I asked about the councils in their respective areas. They said there had been nothing for them to do other than simply turn up at the district councils because the leadership was chosen from above. There were no elections at the upazila, district, city or any level. The names of the presidents and general secretaries were declared from the centre.

I asked a leader from Jamalpur district Awami League how he felt about the controversial leader Dr Murad Hasan returning to the party fold. He said, "They shouldn't take back the person who gave the party a bad name." Will these views from the grassroots reach the central leaders? Even if these do, they will talk about various equations and considerations.

Awami League's council was no different from any other large event. On stage the leaders delivered speeches, at the back rows the delegates chatted with each other. No one really paid attention to the speeches. Many of the grassroots leaders and activists were irate for not being given the bag and food allocated for the event.

I saw a journalist friend there with a delegate card hung around his neck. Before I could ask, he said that he has to attend the working session in the afternoon and wouldn't be allowed if he used his press card. That's why I have taken a delegate card, he explained. But no one said anything at the Awami League working session that would displease the leaders. Only one delegate said that many workers had given up everything for Awami League, while others had amassed wealth.

The party general secretary Obaidul Quader had sardonically called such leaders who had amassed wealth, 'crows' and 'hybrid'. But none of them have been dropped from the party. In fact, just before the council,  general amnesty was declared for those who had been expelled for violating party discipline. Then there are those left outside of the general amnesty. For example, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, who was once a powerful leader of Faridpur Awami League. He lost his post as minister quite some time ago. This time he was dropped from the advisory council. One newspaper reported that he had retired. Was this retirement voluntary or was he forced to retire. On 7 June 2020 the police raided his house and arrested his associates. None of them are in Awami League now. But it will take time to heal the wounds they created. And such incidents did not happen in Faridpur alone. Inner conflict had raged in the Awami League unit of Noakhali, the party general secretary Obaidul Quader's own district. That had been the talk of the country, though now the two sides have declared 'ceasefire'.

The Awami League general secretary has stressed the party's unity and solidarity in order to face the challenges ahead. But it is no secret that unity and solidarity are a far cry in the party.

Everyone was interested in the speech of the party president. They were eager to hear what new guidelines she had for the coming election, democracy and development. However, there was really nothing new in her speech other than switching from 'Digital Bangladesh' to Smart Bangladesh'. The logic behind not bringing about any significant changes to Awami League's leadership was that the party had to tackle the next election. But there is still no answer as to how the election will be held and will all parties take part in it. Awami League must acknowledge that the country is facing a problem over the election. The culture of denial can usher in horrendous consequences, as we have seen repeatedly in the past.

Awami League claims the election will be held under the present constitution and that the election commission is independent concerning the elections. BNP and its allies maintain that the election must be held under a non-partisan government. The government must resign before the election or there will be no elections in the country.

No matter how loud the call may have been in the council for party unity and peace, there were no indications of resolving the political knots. Former chief election commissioner Mohammad Abu Hena recently said, if the election is not participatory, it will be meaningless. It is not enough for Awami League to just tackle the challenge of the election, it must tackle the challenge of democracy too.

Awami League leaders claim that it has been during their rule that the country has seen unprecedented development. People's living standards have improved more than ever before. So why then is Awami League apprehensive about a competitive election? Why will Awami League not take up the challenge of an election participated by all?

* Sohrab Hassan is the joint editor of Prothom Alo and a poet. He can be reached at [email protected]

* This column appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir