With the national election set to take place within three weeks, political parties have started their campaigns. The campaign will intensify as election will be closer. Unlike the previous three elections, which were marked by manipulation and irregularities, the February 12 election is expected to be fair. To stay in power at any cost, the Hasina-led Awami League distorted the country's election system. As a result, most voters were unable to cast their votes at polling booths in 2014, 2018 and 2024. After the July uprising that forced Hasina to flee the country and seek shelter in India on August 5, 2024, an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus took charge.
Around one and a half years later, the election is set to be held under the interim government. Restrictions have been imposed on the political activities of Awami League for mass killing during the July uprising. Besides, the oldest political party is also barred from participating in the 12th national parliamentary election. The supporters, sympathisers and beneficiaries of the party at home and abroad, especially in India, are holding the idea that the upcoming election will be one-sided and undemocratic. These people are least repentant that their party was responsible for the brutal killing of at least 1,400 people and injuring hundreds during the July mass uprising in 2024. They also do not find anything wrong with the tyrant Hasina and her associates who grossly undermined the country's electoral systems. These are the people who also support all the misdeeds of the Hasina regime in the name of upholding the spirit of 1971. To them, any election is fair if only their party wins.
However, the country is no longer willing to accept such hypocrisy and flawed arguments. In theory, barring a major political party from seeking votes does not align with the spirit of democracy. At the same time, a party, the leaders of which unleashed tyranny, injustice and plunder for more than a decade, while denying people their voting and other rights, have lost the right to participate in the election. The party has no one else to blame but only itself for its ouster from the political process. Trials are ongoing against the party chief, also the ousted prime minister, and several leaders for various crimes. Against this backdrop, the demand for creating an ideal atmosphere for is unrealistic.
Since August 5, 2024, the country has experienced months of chaos and uncertainty marked by violence and conflict. The transfer of power could not but be forcible, because of the persistent repression unleashed by the regime of that time. History shows that unseating of a government by mass uprisings or revolutions often bring temporary chaos and conflict. It takes time to restore order, and the process is difficult as those who faced repression try to retaliate after the fall of tyrants. So, those now in charge have to work hard for creating an enabling environment for election. Bangladesh is going through this phase, and the cost is high as crime, violence and conflict are on the rise.
Nevertheless, the scheduled election on February 12 may be a landmark event in the country's political transition. Besides electing lawmakers, people will also give their opinions on the July Charter and related amendments to the Constitution of Bangladesh. The interim government has already launched a campaign to secure a 'Yes' vote on the proposed amendments. As the matter remains unclear to many, there is a need to sensitise voters, especially since political parties are busy with their electoral campaigns. Those who question the interim government's purview forget that this government's mandate is broader than that of past caretaker governments.
Thus, the ultimate challenge for the interim government is to ensure that the scheduled election proceeds smoothly through containment of conflicts and safeguarding voter security. How well the Election Commission (EC) with active support and cooperation from the interim government can do it will decide the next course of the nation. Until then, the people need to keep their fingers crossed.
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