F ebruary is the deadline set by the interim government of Professor Muhammad Yunus for holding parliamentary elections and handing over power to the elected people’s representatives. Yunus has promised to make next year’s vote free, fair, and festive.
Since the election roadmap was announced, the Nobel laureate has emphasized the importance of fulfilling his commitment to holding one of the country’s freest and fairest votes, to be remembered forever.
His press wing has reiterated that no power in Bangladesh can break the interim government’s vow to hold the balloting as per the schedule.
Instructions have already been given to the Election Commission to prepare for holding the vote, which, if held, will be the second such exercise in less than two years.
As we all know, the vote has to be held as the president dissolved the 13th parliament shortly after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government in the wake of the mass protests in August last year. Despite the government’s resolve, many in Bangladesh still have doubts about the elections being held on time or at all.
The political parties – minus the Awami League, whose activities have been suspended until the trial of its key leaders for crimes against humanity – have welcomed the announcement of the election roadmap, but the air of uncertainty is yet to clear.
The major players – BNP, Jamaat, and NCP – agree on the election schedule, but they have serious disagreements on how the July Charter would be implemented. Disagreements persist on the question of the professional representation (PR) system, which requires fundamental changes in the constitution.
BNP objects to PR either in a direct vote to elect the legislature or in electing the proposed Upper House. Converting the parliament into two Houses – Lower and Upper- is still on paper, and it’s far from being a reality. Yet debate on how the Upper House will be elected rages on, with the Consensus Commission finding it hard to bring the participating political parties to a consensus across the table. Jamaat, NCP, and several other parties insist that the legislature be elected through the proportional votes the contesting parties win in the election.
For example, if BNP gets 30 percent of the votes, it will get the same percentage of seats in the parliament.
The seats will thus be shared by the contesting parties in accordance with the number of votes they each poll.
The voters will cast ballots in favor of the party, not for any particular candidate.
The parties will distribute the seats among their chosen candidates on the basis of vote percentage.
This system, rare in any democracy, is complicated and entirely unknown to most of our voters.
However, it suits the smaller parties as it provides a step for them to get into the House, which, under the current system, remains an unreachable goal.
So when they press for the introduction of a PR system, there seems to be a ‘method in the madness’ syndrome. Last year’s political unity against Sheikh Hasina seems to be still strong, but questions about its solidity remain.
This has led to political uncertainty, deepened further by a deteriorating law and order characterized by mob violence.
Analysts join the political parties in the chorus for holding the general elections by February or risk plunging the nation into more chaos and into the darkness, not only politically but also socially and, most importantly, economically.
Under Yunus’s administration, the financial aspects of the economy are showing signs of a turnaround, but the growth has slowed down to 3.6 percent, with inflation showing no sign of a significant fall.
It has eased a bit, but more needs to be done to bring it under sustainable control.
The warning is that the country’s democratic aspirations will get a jolt if Yunus fails to hold the February polls. Preventive steps are urgent now before it gets out of hand.