Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed's announcement on Saturday night that the elections for the ninth parliament will be held on December 18 and polls to upazila parishads in two phases on December 24 and 28 has been received with mixed reactions.
While the major political parties have termed the announcement of the date of general elections as a positive step, demands have been voiced to shift the dates of upazila elections.
Although in his address to the nation, the military-backed caretaker government chief said the Election Commission (EC) would announce the detailed schedules for both polls, the people would have liked to hear the dates of the elections from the Commission. The state of emergency will be relaxed for electioneering at an appropriate time, the Chief Adviser said.
The announcement has come at a time when the military-backed technocratic interim government apparently failed to execute political reforms by punishing the corrupt politicians. Now people are worried about the same old politics coming back with vengeance. At the same time the present caretaker government has created problems making the country's economy unworkable. The law and order situation is also deteriorating fast. In short, the government is losing its grip and bearing.
The Economist newsmagazine commented 'tafter a year in jail on charges of corruption, Bangladesh's battling Begums are back.' On September 11th the government freed Mrs Zia on bail. Five days later, it cleared legal hurdles for the return of Sheikh Hasina from America, where she went for medical treatment following her release on parole in June. She is expected back in Bangladesh early next month.
'The good news is that Bangladeshis, for the first time since 2001, will get the chance to elect a government. For once it will be almost impossible to rig the poll. The election commission has purged 12m duplicate, deceased or otherwise bogus names from voter rolls.'
From the Chief Adviser's address it could be discerned that the interim government is keen on finding an exit strategy after installing a political government through the elections.
The begums alternated in power from 1991-2007 and are blamed for the fiercely antagonistic, corrupt politics that led the army to step in. Attempts were made to create a "third force" in Bangladeshi politics. But the begums' parties are held together by two things: patronage and personality cult. They are unviable without their leaders.
The Election Commission has to its credit the preparation of the photo voter list with full backing of the army and is on course to reform of the electoral process which the two major parties, by and large, did not like. Yesteday, however, the Awami League expressed its positive attitude towards the commission's demand for registration of political parties with a view to qualifying to contest elections. The BNP and its political allies have so far cold- shouldered the move on the plea that no adequate time was left for them to complete the formalities for this.
The interim government has also reformed the judiciary by separating it from the executive, reconstituted the election commission, the public service commission and the university grants commission; and initiated a process of regulatory reforms.
The campaign against corruption, despite some flaws here and there, by and large gave people hope of honest government and responsible politics. The government should make it very sure that the process of reforms remains uninterrupted as it readies itself for an exit. Because without reforms it may find the two years of efforts will leave the country in a much worse situation than it was when the present army-backed government took over power. We have faith that path of retreat will not be acceptable. This nation deserves better.
