As Bangladesh approaches parliamentary elections, to be held by the end of the year, the stakes could not be higher. Unlike in 2014, the BNP, along with a band of smaller parties forming the Jatiya Oikaya front (JO), is likely to contest the elections.
The history of electoral insignificance of the non-BNP members of JO means that, in reality, the choice for the voters is between AL and BNP.
AL is the tried and tested choice. It is the oldest political party in Bangladesh, having led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, and more recently, in the last decade, having achieved remarkable economic progress which recently led the World Bank to describe Bangladesh as “among the fastest growing economies in the developing world.” Bangladesh’s 7.86% economic growth in 2018 is the highest in Bangladesh’s history, and the third consecutive year of at least 7% growth.
BNP, on the other hand, at least in its current incarnation, is a dangerous and irrational choice for voters. BNP’s last term in office during 2001-2006, with its rampant corruption, effectively crippled Bangladesh’s political framework that had been established since the restoration of democracy in 1991.
It was BNP’s insistence to forcefully remain in power that led to the takeover on January 11, 2007, what is known as the 1/11 military-backed caretaker government. Since then, much has been revealed about why exactly the Bangladesh military, as well as the international community, no longer saw BNP as a viable democratic political force.
During 2001-2006, BNP, in coalition with Jamaat, supported systematic assassinations. On May 21, 2004, a grenade attack was carried out by Islamist fundamentalists on the then British High Commissioner in Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury. On January 27, 2007, a senior AL leader and former Finance Minister Shah ASM Kibria were assassinated by another grenade attack, allegedly upon instructions from officers in the prime minister’s office.
The final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back and destroyed BNP’s credibility was when, following the August 21, 2004 grenade attacks on the then leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina, BNP hampered the investigation and audaciously blamed the Awami League itself for the assassination attempt.
BNP’s Senior Vice President Tarique Rahman has recently been convicted of masterminding the grenade attack. Yet Tarique Rahman, in line with BNP’s old habits, issued a false statement that the AL had suddenly changed the venue of the meeting, which prevented the police from providing adequate security.
This is contradicted by evidence from newspaper reports of the morning of August 21, 2004, showing that the meeting venue was fixed, and not changed.
The flagrant corruption that took place during BNP’s 2001-2006 rule also happened under the direct patronage of the two sons of then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The scale of the corruption, and the extent to which the sons were directly involved was revealed by investigations carried out by international law enforcing agencies such as the FBI.
WikiLeaks disclosed a cable dated November 3, 2008 from the US Ambassador in Bangladesh, James F Moriarty, where he reported to the US State Department that Tarique Rahman was guilty of “egregious political corruption” and “notorious for flagrantly and frequently demanding bribes in connection with government procurement actions.” The cable also revealed that Tarique Rahman and his brother Arafat Rahman Koko received bribes from Siemens AG which were then being investigated by the FBI Special Agent Debra Laprevotte.
A little over a month later, on December 15, 2008, Siemens AG pleaded guilty before the US District Court and admitted to paying bribes of about $5.3 million for contracts in Bangladesh. The bribe payment was traced to a Singapore bank account of Koko, and the money was eventually recovered through asset forfeiture action and returned to Bangladesh.
As a result of its crimes, BNP can no longer be considered a credible alternative to the AL. Even after the events of 1/11, BNP has failed to learn its lessons. In 2013, BNP was supportive of the mayhem caused by Hefazat in the heart of the commercial hub of Dhaka.
In the face of criminal convictions of its top two leaders -- Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman -- the BNP has now decided to ally itself with the self-proclaimed JO, in the hope that the so-called civil society members behind 1/11 would be able to give them some form of legitimacy and acceptance.
Unfortunately, things have not changed much for the BNP. It is still being led by Khaleda Zia, convicted of corruption and misappropriating foreign donations meant for orphans, and Tarique Rahman, convicted of the August 21 grenade attacks, as well as bribery and money-laundering.
It is true that the only other choice, AL, still has much room for improvement. For instance, when it comes to the excesses committed by its student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League, it would be better for the AL to be more pro-active in penalizing crimes the way it did with the Biswajit murder case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission can be made stronger, so that it can independently go after the bank loan defaulters and successfully prosecute the cases. In the upcoming elections, AL may nominate clean and honest candidates, more women, and more young candidates in order to attract more voters.
Bangladeshi voters would need to decide how AL’s faults compare to BNP’s. Let’s call a spade a spade. A vote for the BNP is a vote for terrorism and corruption. The question for the voters remains whether BNP can be relied upon to lead Bangladesh yet again, or is there real risk that they will take us back to the dark days of power outages and lost economic opportunities.
In a democracy, the power belongs to the people, and if the people want to vote rationally in the interests of Bangladesh, and not irrationally to derail Bangladesh’s path to prosperity, then there is just one choice.
Moin Ghani is a lawyer specializing in international arbitration, prevention of corruption, and multi-jurisdictional law enforcement.