Consensus for stability and good governance
Monday, 10 November 2008
Abul Koyes Sami
All conscious groups in the country must concentrate their pressures now on the political players, the political parties and the government, for forging consensuses in respect of certain guideline in politics to be observed by all. They must highlight these demands as the ones representing the entire civil society and press for their acceptance by all political parties before the country heads towards election. Without established consensus on these issues, there will be another election and another government but political stability and better governance will likely remain as distant goals as ever.
The business and civic groups will have to urge the caretaker government not to act out its term as an overseer of elections only. It must exercise a more innovative and visionary role by urging all and getting their agreement to abide by certain fundamentals of political behaviour in the future. The same should be as follows:
All political parties must express their commitment formally to be represented always in parliament and contain their grievances on the floors of parliament. The two major parties-BNP and the Awami League-had continuously boycotted parliament's sessions under one pretext or the other when they formed the opposition. There should be no more such pretexts. They should commit themselves unequivocally to the public view before the election about never to abstain from the parliament's session. They should give a guarantee about the parliament's effective functioning at all times with their representation in it and not to allow their differences inside parliament to spill over into the open and take violent agitational form outside parliament. In sum, they must be persuaded to take a vow for a new political beginning with parliament as the centre-stage of all their politics.
The government will have to try its best to get the parties' agreement of no more engaging in hartals. The caretaker government during the rest of its tenure will have to spend its energies mainly in setting the stage for elections. But even while doing this, it should call meetings of the major political parties and try its utmost to thrash out an agreement in which all political parties will agree to give up hartal as a political strategy or tactic.
The political parties must be persuaded till the last minute to nominate to the best of their abilities competent and respected persons as candidates for parliamentary elections. This would be a very crucial expectation on the part of the voters and not accomplishing this would remain the worst legacy of this caretaker government.
The caretaker government will have to secure the agreement of all major parties well in advance of the elections that they would faithfully accept the results of the elections and would not come up with fresh allegations that elections have not been fair in the post election period.
Very especially, the caretaker government must ensure the participation of all major political parties in the elections. It will have to work with very exceptional care and scrupulousness to make itself hundred per cent neutral and pro-country and not pro any political party or parties if it is to really pave the way for political stability.
The business and civic groups will do very well indeed if they keep their sights very clear and go on pressuring everybody to work for the fulfilment of the above objectives before the polling starts. They must not be content with a stint of only holding the national elections somehow and little else. They will be expected to work with redoubled enthusiasm to build pressure on all to do whatever things are possible to be done in the remaining time to create conditions for lasting political stability and good governance after the elections.
All conscious groups in the country must concentrate their pressures now on the political players, the political parties and the government, for forging consensuses in respect of certain guideline in politics to be observed by all. They must highlight these demands as the ones representing the entire civil society and press for their acceptance by all political parties before the country heads towards election. Without established consensus on these issues, there will be another election and another government but political stability and better governance will likely remain as distant goals as ever.
The business and civic groups will have to urge the caretaker government not to act out its term as an overseer of elections only. It must exercise a more innovative and visionary role by urging all and getting their agreement to abide by certain fundamentals of political behaviour in the future. The same should be as follows:
All political parties must express their commitment formally to be represented always in parliament and contain their grievances on the floors of parliament. The two major parties-BNP and the Awami League-had continuously boycotted parliament's sessions under one pretext or the other when they formed the opposition. There should be no more such pretexts. They should commit themselves unequivocally to the public view before the election about never to abstain from the parliament's session. They should give a guarantee about the parliament's effective functioning at all times with their representation in it and not to allow their differences inside parliament to spill over into the open and take violent agitational form outside parliament. In sum, they must be persuaded to take a vow for a new political beginning with parliament as the centre-stage of all their politics.
The government will have to try its best to get the parties' agreement of no more engaging in hartals. The caretaker government during the rest of its tenure will have to spend its energies mainly in setting the stage for elections. But even while doing this, it should call meetings of the major political parties and try its utmost to thrash out an agreement in which all political parties will agree to give up hartal as a political strategy or tactic.
The political parties must be persuaded till the last minute to nominate to the best of their abilities competent and respected persons as candidates for parliamentary elections. This would be a very crucial expectation on the part of the voters and not accomplishing this would remain the worst legacy of this caretaker government.
The caretaker government will have to secure the agreement of all major parties well in advance of the elections that they would faithfully accept the results of the elections and would not come up with fresh allegations that elections have not been fair in the post election period.
Very especially, the caretaker government must ensure the participation of all major political parties in the elections. It will have to work with very exceptional care and scrupulousness to make itself hundred per cent neutral and pro-country and not pro any political party or parties if it is to really pave the way for political stability.
The business and civic groups will do very well indeed if they keep their sights very clear and go on pressuring everybody to work for the fulfilment of the above objectives before the polling starts. They must not be content with a stint of only holding the national elections somehow and little else. They will be expected to work with redoubled enthusiasm to build pressure on all to do whatever things are possible to be done in the remaining time to create conditions for lasting political stability and good governance after the elections.