Awami League undecided over dissolution of parliament

The government is in a dilemma over whether to dissolve parliament ahead of the next general election. The main opposition BNP has long been demanding that parliament be dissolved before the polls. The ruling Awami League thinks any move to dissolve the House will mean giving in to BNP’s demand. On the other hand, if parliament is not dissolved, new candidates contesting the polls with Awami League’s ticket might face hurdles in their electioneering as over-envious lawmakers of current parliament, who are unlikely to get Awami League nominations because of their poor track records and controversies at the grassroots level, are highly likely to participate in the election as independent contestant against their party-nominated candidates. Roughly a dozen leaders of the party said that they are discussing the complexity in private but not willing to talk about it in public. Two presidium members of Awami League said they have attached great importance to the issue and would discuss it at their party forum. According to sources associated with the party’s policy-makers, if the government dissolves parliament as per BNP’s demand, the morale of Awami League leaders and activists might plummet, which will in turn set an upbeat mood for BNP men. On the other hand, it is not dissolved, new candidates of the party will face pressure from the sitting MPs, who will continue to enjoy privileges associated with being a lawmaker until the transfer of powers to the next government. Party insiders said Awami League would bring changes on the list of nomination seekers in nearly half of the constituencies and field fresh faces. Also, the party will have to share a portion of seats with its allies including Jatiya Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Workers Party, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation and Bangladesh Nationalist Front. Including independent lawmakers (most of whom are either directly or indirectly involved in the ruling quarter) and the ones of these parties, there are 71 MPs apart from those of Awami League. If Awami League opts to go solo and does not share seats with its allies, then MPs of those parties will in no way allow its candidates to carry out electioneering in their strongholds. Moreover, an Awami League-blessed candidate in a constituency will have to compete with at least two candidates — one is the constituency’s sitting MP and the other is from BNP. Under such circumstances, winning the election by beating the two other contestants will certainly be a difficult job for the Awami League candidate, the two presidium members observed. Given all these things, they feared their party might face a debacle unless the House is dissolved. However, to avoid being caught in a tight spot, the top brass has been mulling over an alternative, that is, dissolving parliament after the time for submission of nomination papers and withdrawal of candidature is over. In such case, the aspirants who will not get nominations will not be able to contest as rebel or independent candidate. Awami League policy-makers also said they have yet to reach a final decision in this regard, adding that they would do what the emerging situations dictate.This article was first published on bangletribune.com