“Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable -- the art of the next best” -- Otto Von Bismark.
“Politics is not a game, but a serious business” - Winston Churchill.
The year 2023 will go down in our political annals as the year that shaped the future of politics in Bangladesh. It will be a watershed in retrofitting the political culture, norms, and practices in the country.
Seldom have we witnessed the normalization of democratic life in our country, a country that sacrificed so much to gain its independence, and the independence, which promised "democracy" as one of its core pillars. Alas, that very concept of democracy has eluded us almost from the formative years of our journey to nationhood.
The democracy in this country has been fractured several times by its misuse, military interventions, authoritarian governance, etc, resulting in the shrinking of the citizen's political space, voices, and rights.
Reduced to a theatre
What's more saddening is that politics has been turned into a theatre of armed confrontation between the rival parties. The present political leaders of the nation owe it to our posterity to bequeath them a decent, peaceful, and participatory political practice and tradition.
Such practices are prerequisites not only for the people's prosperity, development, and economic growth of the nation but also for securing a place of pride in the comity of nations.
I recall a statement of a much-reputed US Congressman Bill Richardson, a close friend of President Bill Clinton who while addressing a gathering at the Bangladesh Institute of International Studies (BIIS), sometime in July 1996, defined Bangladesh as a moderate Muslim majority country “which has demonstrated to the world that there was no conflict between Islam and democracy and that not only they can survive with each other, they can also be complementary to each other.”
It was certainly a recognition of our nascent democracy. Unfortunately, these days Bangladesh is branded as a hybrid regime, which is not desirable.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cemented her indelible place in the history of Bangladesh not only for being the longest-serving head of the government of the country -- a feat that would be mountainous for anyone in the future to match, steering the nation back to the democratic route first in 1996 and again in 2009 -- but also for setting the nation on an unstoppable developmental trajectory.
Internationally, she also earned huge appreciation and accolades from her well-wishers and detractors alike for her courageous role in sheltering more than a million Rohingya refugees in the country.
Reason for optimism
Paradoxically, there seems to be a gathering of dark clouds on the political horizon of Bangladesh, likely to bring a torrential storm wiping out all the sunshine from her glorious achievements. There's nothing impossible that can't be resolved. Every problem has its solution and we Bengalis are inherently creative and capable of resolving our problems “collectively", without outside interference.
We are among the few nations in the world that can take much pride in snatching our independence through a War of Liberation and at a huge human cost. We also surmounted the political quagmire in 1990, 1996 and 2009.
So, there is great optimism that this storm too will ride out. What's needed is for everyone to understand and realize that nothing will be gained by being stubborn or intransigent for the future of the nation will depend on what course of action is taken by our leaders -- compromise or confrontation? Leaders are supposed to lead the nation to prosperity and not the opposite.
The bone of contention among the two parties is that the BNP and its allies are bent on forcing the government to quit lock stock and barrel and hand over power to a neutral caretaker government with the specific mandate of holding a free and fair election within a mandated time frame, while the government is rigid on holding the election under the existing constitutional provision, ie, with keeping the government intact in power.
No one appears to be in the mood to compromise. So, can we find some middle ground that the rival parties can take a look at and improve and fine-tune further?
Here are some of my suggestions:
- There is no necessity to amend the Constitution.
- The prime minister need not resign; rather she goes on a long furlough for a specific period until the election is over, during which she will have no executive authority to make any decisions whatsoever (please note, she isn't relinquishing power).
- The cabinet members will resign but not the parliamentary seats of those who are the members of the parliament. There will be an 11 or 13-member cabinet including the acting prime minister (a neutral person, say the sitting Chief Justice).
- The rest of the cabinet members (maybe parliament members or otherwise) will be drawn equally from the ruling party and its allies and the BNP and its allies. The nomination of the candidates will be decided by the parties concerned. The cabinet members, however, will not be allowed to take part in the election as candidates.
- To give a legal back up, the cabinet members may be appointed as technocrat ministers or advisers to the prime minister, a practice which is already in vogue.
- The cabinet portfolios will be decided by the acting prime minister alone, but they must be seen as fair, unified, and unbiased.
- The present Election Commission will be dissolved and a fresh Election Commission will be reconstituted from a set of recommendations of five candidates to be separately submitted each by BNP and the Awami League, to represent them with equal numbers. Like the acting prime minister, the CEC could be a mutually acceptable retired justice or a retired cabinet secretary.
- The armed forces will be deployed throughout the whole country to not only ensure a free, fair, and transparent election but also to maintain law and order and security, until after one month after the election is over.
- Simultaneously, with the handing over of power to the acting prime minister by the prime minister, the parliament will go into recess and the seats of the current members will be automatically vacated when the election results are officially announced.
To provide incentives and encouragement to the BNP and its allies to join the election and also to create a conducive condition, the government may adopt the following goodwill measures:
(a) All the cases pending against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, and his wife Zubaida Rahman should be withdrawn and they are set free unconditionally.
(b) All the leaders and workers of the opposition parties should be set free on permanent bail, except those who have been convicted of criminal charges. A separate judicial commission should be formed to review the cases against the latter group and disposed of accordingly.
(c) During the interim period, ie, when the acting prime minister takes over power, Begum Zia should be accorded the status of the Opposition Leader along with all entitlement and privileges including the security details.
(d) The measures as enumerated from sub para “a” to “c” above will be conditional on the BNP agreeing upon a joint formula for holding the next election.
Such an arrangement, though it is not a be-all and end-all by itself, will not only allay any fears of the ruling party rank-and-file members and persuade the BNP to participate in the election, but will also ensure a peaceful and stable transition to a new government. This will also eliminate the rancour and animosity among the rival parties.
All eyes on the PM
Ultimately, it's in the hands of the prime minister alone. And it's she who can steer the nation away from the path of an irreversible bloody confrontation leading to innumerable loss of innocent lives and destruction of national properties.
There have been numerous precedents when she rose to the occasion to take the most courageous step. Now again, she stands at a crossroads to make another epoch-making decision. She doesn't have any dearth of necessary wisdom, sagacity, and political acumen to rise above self and party interests for the greater cause of the nation.
If her party wins, she will stand taller and rule the country for an unprecedented four consecutive terms, making further history. If, in the unlikely event, her party loses, she will make a graceful exit, still making new history. Either way, she will not only be the sole winner but, she will also be respected worldwide as a great statesperson and no one will be able to erase her name from history.
And, who knows, the Nobel prize authorities may be finally tempted to bestow a Nobel Peace Prize on her for her indomitable courage to (a) provide shelter to the over million Rohingya refugees and (b) avert a national crisis in the country and thereby consolidating democracy on a firm foundation.
Ashraf ud Doula is a former Secretary to the Government and served as Ambassador to several countries.