The twelfth national parliamentary election of Bangladesh is scheduled to be held on January 7, 2024. In the meantime, the government parties and their alliances are preparing to participate in the elections in 300 seats of the country.
The last date for submission of nominations has already passed, and the main opposition party BNP remains adamant in its decision not to participate in the elections.
They aim to intensify protests in the field for their one-point demand to hold fair polls under a neutral caretaker government. However, several of their central and district level leaders have submitted nominations from various parties to contest the elections, and many are also gearing up to contest the polls as independent candidates.
BNP leaders who have gone against the party decision by seeking nominations have already been expelled from the party.
Three political leaders from Chittagong- 9 constituency commented on the fourth episode of the TV show “Election Debate,” organized by Dhaka Tribune. They are Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel, Deputy Minister of Education and MP (Chittagong-9), Bangladesh Awami League; Md Ekramul Karim, Former General Secretary and Former Vice President, Chittagong Metropolitan BNP; and Zahurul Islam Reza, Joint General Secretary of Chittagong Metropolitan Jatiya Party and Vice President of the Central Executive Committee of the National Volunteer Party.
Md Ekramul Karim is not participating in the polls, however, he came to the debate to discuss the measures the BNP would have taken in the constituency if the party participated and came to power.
The program was moderated by Dhaka Tribune Executive Editor Reaz Ahmad.
The program aired on Channel 24 TV on Thursday, where the leaders from Bangladesh Awami League, the main opposition BNP, and the current opposition in Parliament, Jatiya Party, expressed their views on the political situation, current goals, the global situation, economic challenges, and their plans for the Chittagong- 9 Constitution. Additionally, the respective parties discussed their political di erences, freedom of expression, and the party’s commitment to anti-corruption.
BNP leader Md Ekramul Karim said: “All parties are united for the development of Chittagong. If we came to power, we would transfer the head o ces of ten banks to Chittagong in this commercial area because it is a hub of business. I agree with the Awami League leader present here. We also emphasize decentralization for employment. Although we have political differences, we agree on this.”
Regarding the economic challenges of the government, he claimed that the situation is deplorable, for which the present government is responsible.
“Whoever comes to power will have to face economic challenges. As far as I know, they had reserves of about $50 million, but now it is $2 million. India’s reserves, on the other hand, are $500 billion. Despite trading with them, our reserves are poor,” he said.
He suggested coordinating all economists in Bangladesh to address this issue.
He further said: “It is true there are mega projects in the country, and it is equally true that there is corruption. It is everyone’s responsibility as a nation to solve these problems. Politics is collapsing because of the government’s policy of missing-murder-cases-attacks. They are not friendly to each other.”
Bangladesh’s foreign debt burden is also increasing with development. Regarding the government’s role in facing this challenge, AL leader Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel said: “We all agree on creating jobs through decentralization, increasing investment, bringing in foreign investment, and reducing the bureaucratic complexity of government institutions. Despite ideological disagreements, we all agree on the issue of development.
“Our aim is to complete the ongoing projects in Chittagong, like our drainage project, which is still in progress. Everyone will benefit from its completion. However, a big challenge in front of us is to ensure the employment of the youth,” he said.
Nowfel continued: “But we don’t think that the government’s debt burden is huge. Keeping in line with the GDP in international standards, our debt burden is very low in the situation of Bangladesh. The most positive thing is that we have the best crisis management.”
Regarding the economic challenges of the country, Nowfel said: “Currently, there are 23 billion dollars in reserves in Bangladesh, not two million. The income of people in the domestic economy has increased, and the number of people living in extreme poverty has decreased, now under 10%. Less than 20% of people are poor, according to World Bank statistics.”
He said: “The mega projects implemented will add value to us. We are saying that income from the Padma Bridge will add about 10% to GDP.”
Jatiya Party’s Zahurul Islam Reza said: “There are many types of development in Bangladesh, but unemployment is increasing with it.”
He added: “When Jatiya Party was in power, we created 568 upazilas in Bangladesh by decentralizing power. Each had a health complex, a court, and one magistrate. My party is determined to ensure the betterment of the people in the villages. We are in dire straits today because of the global recession. There were 22 tanneries in Chittagong; currently, there is only one. All its employees have become unemployed; have we looked for them?”
He emphasized identifying the development of the garment sector, remittance, and agriculture sector to eliminate unemployment.
The JP leader said: “In this era of economic depression, we all have to work together to get rid of it without arguing. 80% of people in Bangladesh are low-income people, village people, laborers, and farmers. We must see what the development that is happening today has been able to give to the people of Bangladesh. But I want to say that the government can stop corruption if they want, which they are not doing.”
Regarding the development of women and youth, BNP leader Ekramul Karim said: “Young people will vote, their role will be different. It is possible to take them forward by emphasizing on their work resources.”
AL leader Nowfel said: “The number of graduate students is increasing every year, and their job expectations are also increasing. With that aim, we have increased trading for youth and women in Chittagong-9, and now need to arrange new employment by shifting offices from the capital through the decentralization of the institutions.”
Jatiya Party leader Reza said: “Opportunities to create employment for women and youths should be increased. In a port city like Chittagong, if the Ministry of Shipping and Commerce ministry were transferred from Dhaka and the main activities could be carried out from here, then the business establishments would increase in this area and employment and work opportunities would increase from there.”
What they said
Md Ekramul Karim, Former General Secretary & Former Vice President, Chittagong Metropolitan BNP All parties are united for the development of Chittagong. We would also emphasize decentralization for employment, although we have differences in politics. However, the economic situation is very deplorable, for which the present government is responsible. Whoever comes to government power will have to face the economic challenges. I suggest coordinating all the economists in Bangladesh to solve it. It is true that there are mega projects in the country, and it is equally true that there is corruption. Politics is collapsing because of the government’s policy of missing-murder-cases-attacks.
Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel, Deputy Minister of Education and MP (Chittagong-9), Bangladesh Awami League We all agree on creating jobs through decentralization, increasing investment, bringing in foreign investment, and reducing the bureaucratic complexity of government institutions. The parties have disagreements on the ideological side, but we all agree here on the issue of development. However, a big challenge in front of us is to ensure the employment of the youth. Keeping in line with the GDP by international standards, our debt burden is very low in the situation of Bangladesh. The mega projects implemented will add value to us; we are saying that income from the Padma Bridge will add about 10% to GDP.
Zahurul Islam Reza, Joint General Secretary, Chittagong Metropolitan JP VP, Central Executive Committee, National Volunteer Party There are many types of development in Bangladesh, but unemployment is increasing with it. We must identify the development of the garment sector, remittance, and agriculture sector to eliminate unemployment. We must see what the development that is happening today has been able to give to the people of Bangladesh. However, I want to say that the government can stop corruption if they want, which they are not doing. In this era of economic depression, we all have to work together to get rid of it without arguing.
Reaz Ahmad, Executive Editor, Dhaka Tribune From Bangladesh’s Chittagong-9 Constituency, BNP, AL, and Jatiya Party have presented their party and personal positions, evaluations, political stances, analyses, as well as future commitments to the people. We hope the audience will gain insights from these discussions. We aimed to examine issues on a national and international level. Despite political differences, we observed a consensus among the leaders of the three parties regarding the significance of an inclusive economy, its development, and the importance of decentralization. We hope that an idea will emerge through their discussions.