Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina made the other day a new proposal -- albeit somewhat ambiguously -- to help resolve the current state of the nation's perilous political situation when she expressed readiness to hold fresh polls for the 11th parliament, provided the main opposition "agrees to certain conditions". This can be considered a kind of demonstration of her 'willingness' to find a way out of the simmering political tensions in Bangladesh, which are yet to show any sign of abatement.
The PM's latest stance, according to some observers, holds out some hope for a settlement of the stand-off -- although not much bright -- for the reason that this shows some prospects for resolving the crisis, though not immediately but for the period after the holding of elections for remaining 146 seats of the 10th parliament. A total of 154 candidates have already been elected uncontested for the 10th parliament.
The main opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has, however, rejected the latest proposal of the PM, stating that they have, for long, been demanding the holding of elections for the 10th parliament in a level-playing field.
Meanwhile, some overzealous members of the cabinet or the leaders of the ruling 'alliance', seem to be desperate to scuttle even the latest proposal of the PM by their reckless comments. One such influential minister has thus already said that the 10th parliament would serve the full five-year term. That means that the government would turn a blind eye to the resolution of the conflict for five more years after the 10th parliament comes into being. However, another no less influential minister, who is also a senior Awami League (AL) leader, discarded the observation made by the former who does not belong to the AL, saying it is neither government's nor AL's position. In the midst of such developments, it appears that hardliners, who hardly bother about country's increasing woes because of lingering political troubles and are more keen to retain their positions of influence, are acting as an obstacle to the PM's publicly expressed desire for a settlement.
It is the PM, who has to care for her image and future position in the history both as a leader and daughter of "Bangabandhu". For some people, many benefits have come to the "hard-liners" as windfall gains and they are too keen about not losing their present influence and benefits at any cost.
So far so good. The violence in the name of the agitational programme by the opposition is in no way justified. So also the ways to deal with the opposition alliance by restricting entry to the central office of its leading party and even by not allowing bringing out of peaceful processions and other constitutional means of making protests and holding demonstrations are also questionable. Finding out the source -- causes and reasons for this violence, as many feel, in a situation where the opposition's back has been pushed to the wall -- merits here an objective and dispassionate consideration. It is also a challenging issue to address where analyses, comments and observations depend more on 'partisan considerations' than on objectively under the given situation about the country's fractious polity.
While the causes of the present troubles may be debated or contested, but their effects and outcomes in the country's large violence-prone polity today, remain beyond any controversy. The latter are all too disastrous, much to the chagrin of the people at large.
The bottom line is that the country is now witnessing an unprecedented political turmoil that it can ill-afford to bear with any longer. It has already become unbearable for the nation. The country is being bled to white.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon sometime ago wrote his second letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia on the political situation prevailing in Bangladesh. The contents of the separate letters were not known, but it was not too difficult to understand or appreciate the reasons of his communications to two key leaders of country's political spectrum. He had written to them before as well, underscoring the need for holding an "inclusive" election in Bangladesh.
Things further worsened since the earlier communications from the UN chief to two leaders of a country of 160 million; it was the crystal clear that the second letter stemmed from the heightened concern and anxiety about the course of developments. Later, he also spoke to the PM over the phone about the polls, due to take place on January 5.
Bangladesh's electoral scenario is now a much talked-about issue both at home and abroad for obvious reasons. While it is on the lips of the countrymen, the volatility of the political environment, leading to massive violence and mayhem, is a matter of common knowledge all over the world. What worries all is that the essence of the voting, in line with the Westminster system of democracy, seems to be clearly lacking in this case.
Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent seats of the 300-member parliament have been filled unopposed -- a record in the parliamentary system of democracy. This is undoubtedly a matter of shame for any representative type of government. The opposition is not also free from faults and they too need to be accommodative in a give-and-take situation. But the major onus lies here with the government to make the voting credible and acceptable for its own sake and for the country's image both at home and abroad. It is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who will have to bear the consequences of the "voterless" elections as the 'hardliners' would not ultimately be accountable since they are not any political figures of much consequence under the given circumstances in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, preparations are now reportedly on for completing the balloting process for the rest of the seats of parliament and the army is being deployed to maintain law and order. A kind of melodramatic activities is also continuing, much to the ridicule of the most people, to bring some parties like that of the former president H.M. Ershad, to the polls. All these, however, have no major bearing on efforts for holding real, credible elections.
The PM's stance on conditional acceptance of new elections for the 11th parliament is otherwise welcome, even though she has not said clearly how long the 10th parliament would last and who would preside over the new polls - the bone of contention between the government and the main opposition.
It now remains to be seen how much hope it can raise among the common people for a settlement of the problems and also whether the opposition would be in a mood to adjust its position accordingly. However, the available signals indicate that the mainstream opposition is unlikely to agree to the conditions given by the PM.
It has also been reported, of late, that the PM is planning to form a new government on January 27 and continue other programmes, in line with her earlier stand. It is imperative for the PM as the leader of the country to re-think her stance since the planned elections will bring no good for the nation. Her government, credited with a some commendable works having been done by it during the last five years, would otherwise face the stigmata for the "farcical" polls in the democratic world and elsewhere.
The Prime Minster needs to act like a statesman for the sake of the country and its people for reaching a consensus on elections that have to be acceptable at home and broad, regardless of the fact about what the political strategies of different quarters are.
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