Mahmud Hasan

THE caretaker government has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to holding the upcoming parliamentary election in December this year. The election date may be moved to an earlier time depending on how fast voters' identity cards are available. A reformed independent Election Commission or EC, has vowed to provide the nation with a free, fair and transparent election in a peaceful environment. Our national army has been given the most difficult task to make the voters' identity card. Eighty million voters are expected to be issued identity cards.

Whether the caretaker government is sincere about its commitment to holding the election remains to be seen. There are serious concerns among the politicians about the proposed election in December. A free and fair election under the caretaker government would give us an opportunity to choose a truly civilian government. So far, both the government and EC appear to be working sincerely to fulfil the promises.

If the political parties fail to resolve their differences at a time of nationwide disaster, it may cause a third party, the army, to be brought into the scene. That is exactly what has happened in Bangladesh. The army's involvement in the domestic politics is not desirable for a nation and not healthy for a democracy as well. But the army-backed government was the very last remedy to bring the country back on the trail. The year 2006 was the darkest period we have ever experienced since the military dictator Gen Ershad was ousted from the power. The vicious power struggle between the political parties brought the country to the verge of collapse. The widespread personal enmities and rivalries of our political leaders threatened the existence of the nation and caused massive misery among the people of Bangladesh. The entire country expected leniency from the political parties. The politicians' perennial mistrusts were sharpened over the issue of the caretaker government. Eventually, the army had to come forward to avert the catastrophe and one eleven was an inevitable fact.

A free and fair election is not the exclusive task of the caretaker government. The government will have to focus on the key institutes like judicial department, anti-corruption body 'Dudak' and police forces, to make sure that these organisations can never be manipulated or undermined by the future political governments. In recent months, a few essential actions have been taken by the authorities to make these institutions independence bodies free from interference. But there will always be an urgent need for additional reforms.

Due to the government's massive drive against corrupted politicians, our political parties have become fragile entities, but the party organisations at the grassroot level have remained very much resilient so far. The present crisis in the political parties is the result of an absence of internal democracy which makes the parties incapable of solving problems. The political parties do not seem to heed the EC's appeal for internal reforms. The Bangladeshi politicians are not known to appreciate being told what to do by someone else. The Election Commission should highlight internal reforms, financial accountability, affiliations to student organisation etc., during the discussions with the politicians. The political parties' branches in foreign countries also need to be disbanded as they split the non-resident Bangladeshis socio-politically on the foreign soil.

It is high time for the caretaker government to unveil a plan to shape a national unity government in a bid to improve the relationships between the political parties, where all varieties of opinions will be represented. The national unity government will be a broad coalition government. The ruling party can invite the opposing parties to join the government as a means of dealing with the national crisis. The system has been practised in many countries to tackle the problems. President Abraham Lincoln of the United States ran a national unity government with democrat Andrew Johnson as his vice president after the American Civil War. A national unity government is anticipated to strengthen the national security as well as stability and to uphold good governance.

The idea of setting up a National Security Council (NSC) in Bangladesh, originally proposed by the some quarters within the caretaker government has come to public attention again, although it still remains uncertain whether or not the idea will see the light of the day. The government should initiate the creation of an executive body responsible for coordinating policy on national issues and advising the future political government on matters related to national security, anti-corruption drive etc. The NSC may include the president, the prime minister, the main opposition leader in the parliament, the chief justice and the chiefs of three armed forces as its members. At a time of national crisis, the NSC can play a significant role to mitigate conflicts and ensure stability in the country. The proposed NSC can function as an advisory body rather than a decision-making council. The council should be empowered merely to suggest guidelines and the course of action for the government. A few of our political leaders are urging the nation to support a greater involvement of our army in the political process. In a democratic society, the army should have no role in politics. Fortunately, the army chief and the chief advisor have reiterated that the army does not have any political ambitions and is only interested in improving law and order. Recently, Gen Moeen U Ahmed stressed the importance of our own brand of democracy, recognising the country's social, historical and religious background as the western democracy does not seem to function properly in Bangladesh. Which things remain yet unclear about such an observation - however well-intentioned it may be in the context of aggression and hostility by the political parties in the recent past, one cannot also forget the experience of "our own brand of democracy", --"basic democracy"-during the sixties. It was a framework for politics that failed ultimately to win public support and was rejected by the Bengalis.

Recently, the Election Commission completed a second round of discussions with its clients -- political parties -- for reforms, holding credible election and other issues. Unfortunately, the outcome of the negotiations could not be taken as a calming message to the nation. It would be highly unlikely for our political parties to accept any preconditions for a dialogue. A flexible EC needs to simply create a friendly atmosphere to generate a successful communication with the parties. The EC will not only lay down the policy and guidelines for the upcoming election but to outline the political parties' future structure and the politicians' manners as the country cannot afford to return to a state similar to that of before one eleven. The success of negotiations will determine which way Bangladesh will move forward in the coming years.

The transfer of power to an elected government is one of the key responsibilities of the incumbent caretaker government through a transparent election. Now, time has come to take decisions about lifting or partial withdrawal of the state of that would restore civil rights and facilitate the election process in an open atmosphere. The right to free expression must not be restricted and any abuse of human rights must not be allowed. On the other hand, the politicians must end the politics of vendetta and victimisation, as was witnessed in the past. We expect them to refrain themselves from politically motivated violence, hartal and boycotting the parliament, and settle their disputes in a civilised manner through dialogue and negotiation.

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The writer is an IT specialist and is currently working at a bank in Stockholm, Sweden

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