The recent announcement by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus that the general elections will be held in February 2026, brings to public memory the image that a group of leaders or members of parliament attired with new dresses taking oath as ministers. Who are they and what are their qualifications? Why should they be chosen? What are being told about them?
Keeping in mind the political changeover that had taken place on August 5, 2024, we have reasons to ask what the philosophy and culture of the council of ministers would be to run the state. Such a question also evokes a boyhood memory of mine: Jolish Kha, a man of working class in a village, had a deeper belief that rizq (subsistence) of the inhabitants of a particular area is determined on basis of the fate of a special person living there. At a dinner in a “Bangla Ghar” (meeting house) at the end of a long day during the harvesting season, he revealed to co-workers that the blessed person of that village was known to him.
Tired but curious farm labourers failed to identify the mysterious person after thinking about a number of options. Disturbed by the delay in sharing the name, an educated youngster of the farmer family asked: “Do you mean it is you who are this person?” In reply, a confident Jolish Kha took a long breath of hookah smoke and said, “yes…”
Day labourer Kha, however, refrained from claiming himself as provider of subsistence, unlike what deposed ruler Sheikh Hasina claimed. At a press conference in 2017, she said in a normal tone, “(My younger sister) Rehana said to Me, ‘you can certainly feed an additional 10 lakh (displaced Rohingya people from Myanmar) when you can feed 16 crore (Bangladeshis)’.”
The recently-banned Awami League chief, her party leaders, and their sycophants acting as custodians of national resources had rather plundered them and made no concession in their wish to do whatever they liked. In a democracy, the president, the prime minister and the MPs are supposed to act as custodians of state power on behalf of the people and the head of the state, the cabinet and the bureaucrats the public servants. In the post-revolution Bangladesh, when the winning party MPs will be joining the cabinet, they shall remain under public scrutiny; there will be a lot of criticism about their performance and activities, provided democracy is functional in society.
The winning, or even the potentially losing, parties in the next elections may take pre-emptive steps to help run parliament and the government in a more vibrant way and in the interests of of competitive politics. They can prepare lists of the leaders of their respective parties and qualified people having respect for party policies and ideology who are capable of becoming ministers and introduce them to the people. The parties may not do so, if they feel they don’t need to prepare such a panel. However, the parties will have an edge in the electoral game, if they present to people a prime ministerial face or president candidate and names of those who would lead different ministries and sectors.
Of course, the tasks of the next government will be more difficult for two reasons, apart from post-fascist challenges: One, the pressure of public expectations and reform initiatives; and two, the absence of a proven model suitable for ensuring governance up to the expectations of the new generation. In such a context, MPs may not have a clue about what they should do and possible reactions and outcomes of their political and administrative steps -- that requires prudence of political leadership.
Gone are the days of cheap political rhetoric as the new generation will not show their patience to wait year after year for better governance. It will also not be very easy for the next ruling party to expose hesitation or unwillingness to carry out reform programs recommended by the interim government. The ministers may be caught in red tapes of methods of reforms that would thwart progress in implementing reform proposals.
In order to maintain caution, it is important for the leaders of the democratic political parties to select the right persons for right positions to run the government and amass necessary courage and define strategies to bring changes by properly understanding the government machinery and public welfare. Otherwise, once the winning party forms the cabinet, they may be plagued by the lethargy of old and become captive to bureaucratic complexities as their forebears.
The parties contesting the elections should, therefore, form a panel in entirely professional considerations so that the best ways for attaining their democratic objectives and carrying out tasks at critical ministries may be found out by analyzing the dynamics of the government machinery. It requires proper homework to be done in defining state affairs such as in national security and protection of public rights; economic policy-making and management of public resources; human resources development and protection of the vulnerable administrative services, election of public representatives and justice delivery; foreign relations and attainment of national interests; and setting the national discourse on our development agenda.
When it comes to reforming the old system and the promise to build a new Bangladesh, we may remain curious about future ministers because of past experiences and new dreams. In that case, exactly who is going to take up the mantle in each successive ministry?
If the choices of the parties for these positions are disclosed in advance, it would be convenient for the people to vote for their chosen parties and candidates.
Khawaza Main Uddin is a journalist. He can be contacted at [email protected].
