Politicians and members of civil society have stressed the need for finding a long-term solution through coordination among political parties to restore politics to a healthy track as the country prepares for the 12th parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held in January 2024.
"Although politics is not broken, we need to repair the whole system. Any kind of sick politics prevents the healthy growth of the society. Politics must be prevented from becoming commercial," said Sharmeen Murshid, election observer and CEO-Brotee, at a seminar in the capital on Sunday.
She added: "Now, we can see a similar situation to when the BNP was in power before the 2008 election; the opposition party then wanted the exact same demand for a caretaker government as what BNP is demanding today in terms of fair elections. But the government does not want that, and we are now at a crossroads."
Dhaka Tribune, in conjunction with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka, organized the seminar, titled "Politics is broken: How do we fix it?" at a hotel in Gulshan.
Zafar Sobhan, editor in chief, Dhaka Tribune moderated the session, which was attended by politicians, diplomats, academics, journalists, and members of civil society organizations.
At the beginning of the session, Norwegian Ambassador Espen Rikter-Svendsen addressed the audience. He hoped that discussions between political parties and civil society could nudge at least a few issues in a positive direction for a participatory, free, and fair election in Bangladesh.
He said: "I think Bangladesh now needs to show that its democracy is functioning and that it is able to hold a good election. A good election is vital for the credibility of Bangladesh's democracy."
During the seminar, the speakers mentioned that it is easy to recognize the consensus among the political parties but finding common ground around the solutions is challenging. They said that if everyone works together, a solution will be attainable, preventing instability among political parties and ensuring that the 2024 elections are free and fair.
They also stressed the importance of consensus-building among political parties and creating a violence-free environment ahead of the parliamentary election.
Zafar Sobhan said: "Now, elections are around the corner, and the political atmosphere has heated up considerably. But beyond answering the question of how we get to good elections from here, we need to consider what functional politics might look like moving forward, regardless of what happens in January.
"I think this key question is even more crucial than how and on what terms we hold the upcoming election. What reforms can be considered, what policies changed, so that we do not find ourselves in this situation ever again?"
Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hossain (retd), former election commissioner of Bangladesh said: "The reason why we have fallen into a state of neglect, like the US visa restrictions, is because our institutions have not functioned, including the judiciary. And we are going to face more extreme problems in one month, it can be said. The entire system is manipulated here.
"If Nepal and Maldives can bring back their democracy, then why not Bangladesh?"
Dr Manisha Chakraborty, member, Central Committee Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal- BASOD, said: "Politics is not broken; our system is broken. Commitment to the people is broken; our politicians are very committed to being in power, but when it comes to democracy, they are not committed to the people. The election system should be changed for a free, fair, and participatory situation."
Tabith Awal, executive committee member, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said: "Something is broken, the state and the way the state is managed are surely broken. A few months ago, BNP made 31 demands for the purpose of repairing this state. Politics is a choice of how to get engaged with this. I think there are two groups now: one group follows advanced democracy while another advances autocracy.
"Power now becomes an addiction, and to get out of here, we first need to admit that it is a problem. I request the ruling party to look into this matter and first admit that you have a problem."
He added: "We must listen to each other. Speaking about it, I can speak without fear. And now a group speaks loudly, and another comes forward and listens. If we can fix equality between these groups, we think it is possible to get closer to a solution."
Mohammad A Arafat, MP, executive member of the Central Executive Committee of Awami League said: "We can say that if the main opposition party participates in the elections, doesn't question the elections and behave as they did in 2014 and 2018 – without committing electoral violence – then we can say that a free and fair election will be held. And, the winning party will assume power."
He added: "But our government has stated that the elections will not be held under the caretaker government. In that context, a long-term permanent solution has to be adopted in terms of demands and elections. And it is important for everyone to agree on this matter."
During the question-and-answer session, Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of SHUJAN, said: "We are promoting the idea of a long-term solution through which not only the next election but all elections in Bangladesh will be fair and there will be no chance of questioning. It can also fix democracy. There are 26-27 agendas with the solutions."
Rehman Sobhan, eminent economist and founder of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), discussed the transformation of parliament into a body predominantly composed of businessmen and the negative consequences of their dominance in politics.
“There is nothing wrong with businessmen getting into politics, but problems arise when they become dominant players in the political system. When politics itself and parliament itself become instrumental in serving someone's business fortunes, the whole dynamic of politics then becomes about not public service but material advancement,” he said.
He also touched upon the emergence of identity politics in Bangladesh, with the two major parties converging on pro-capitalist policies with little fundamental difference when they should be competing exclusively on policy and political issues.
The CPD founder emphasized the need for addressing these issues collectively to ensure a better future and warned against perpetuating a broken system driven by personal advancement and power.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of SHUJAN; Dr Ashikur Rahman; senior economist at the Policy Research Institute; Navine Murshid. associate professor of political science at Colgate University, USA; Professor Jude William R Genilo, pro vice chancellor of ULAB; Alisha Pradhan, founder, HerNet TV; and many others were also in attendance.
"I think Bangladesh now needs to show that its democracy is functioning and that it is able to hold a good election. We all know the buzzwords: free, fair, participatory, peaceful. Discussions between political parties and civil society could
nudge at least a few issues in a positive direction for a participatory, free, and fair election."
"The ruling party cannot guarantee free and fair elections. There are questions about the partisanship of the entire system and credible elections as institutions fail to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities. People in politics now consider it an instrument of their advancement. There was a consensus among political parties to continue the caretaker government. The problems that led to the caretaker government remain."
"Beyond answering the question of how we get to good elections from here, I would like us today to consider what functional politics might look like moving forward, regardless of what happens in January. We want good elections but more than that we want a functional polity and a political system that delivers the best possible outcome for the country."
"Honesty and genuine intentions are what politicians need to sit together to solve problems in politics and electoral processes. If the main opposition party participates in the elections doesn’t question the elections, and behaves as they did in 2014 and 2018–without committing electoral violence–then we can say that a free and fair election will be held."
"The state and the way the state is managed are surely broken. That’s why the BNP proposed a 31-point solution to mend the state. Power has become an addiction and, to get out of here, we first need to admit that it is a problem. We must listen to each other; we can speak without fear. And now a group speaks loudly, and another comes forward and listens. If we can fix equality between these groups, we think it is possible to get closer to a solution."
"Any kind of sick politics prevents the healthy growth of society. Politics must be prevented from becoming commercial. We are now at a crossroads, where the opposition demands a non-partisan government, and AL does not. Politics is now commercialized and commoditised, and it has become a matter of profit and loss."
"We have polluted the whole election system and there is a lack of faith. When we talk about an independent Election Commission, it is supported by various institutions, but unfortunately, our institutions have not been able to grow, or we have broken all our institutions. And we are going to face more extreme problems in one month, it can be said."
"Politics is not broken; our system is broken. Commitment to the people is broken; our politicians are very committed to being in power, but when it comes to democracy, they are not committed to the people. We witness in Bangladesh a broken system that can lead to a troubling transition of power from one party to another."