The year, 2013, in retrospect; uncertain prospect for the new one

The year 2013 to which we bade adieu last week, has been quite tumultuous for Bangladesh and the countries beyond it. The developments of the last year would impact the new year in varying ways; it is quite likely that its hangover would have an adverse influence over certain areas, nationally and internationally.
For Bangladesh, political tensions surrounding the national elections, due to take place today (Sunday, January 5, 2014), remained the most talked-about, divisive issue for most part of the bygone year.
 The country has thus stepped into the new year on a sombre note, with the same issue being the main bone of contention between the government and the opposition.
The publication of this column synchronizes the holding of today's national elections - otherwise an event of enormous significance - that has unfortunately been mired in a severe controversy. The government has gone ahead with the polls in "conformity with the provisions of the constitution" while the opposition has been clamouring for the voting under a non-partisan authority.
Because of the diametrically opposite positions of the two sides on the issue of the poll-time government, this most important national-level voting has now been reduced to a virtually one-sided affair, with the main opposition and several other parties staying away from it.
A total of 153 candidates in the 300-seat parliament have already been elected unopposed. Indeed, it is a record for any Westminster type of democracy! Now, voting is taking place in rest of the 147 constituencies amidst stringent security marked by the deployment of the army.
The outcome of the polls is more than a foregone conclusion. The question that now comes to the fore is obviously not the result of the voting, but whether its outcome would be acceptable at home and abroad. On one sides the government, as its leaders and activists state, has undeniably acted within the purview of the constitutional provisions. The opposition, according to its key functionaries and leaders, have been alleging, on the other, that the ruling circles amended the constitution on a critically important issue like the poll-time government, taking advantage of its brute majority in parliament, although it was not in the election manifesto of the Awami League in 2008.
The opposition campaign in boycotting and resisting the balloting has increasingly been becoming violent, resulting in the death and injuries of a big number of people. Bangladesh was not expected to experience such a line-up to the balloting and consequently, its people have been robbed of a normal election that does otherwise take place in a festive mood in a genuine competitive democratic environment.
The year, 2013, saw several developments in the country including the trial of the war criminals that was welcomed by the people at large. Economic and social indicators looked encouraging, despite a downturn of the global economy. But political unrest along with some big corruption scandals like the bank-loan scams, however, blurred those positive signals to a considerable extent.
Regionally, several nations in South Asia - Pakistan, Nepal and the Maldives - have held elections.
However, in case of Nepal the polls have not helped to resolve its problems. India, the largest of the regional countries, is heading for national polls in April/May, this year and it has been witnessing unusually great interest and curiosity since late last year over the question who would be the next prime minister of the world's largest democracy. Fighting continues in the war-ravaged Afghanistan while a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka was overshadowed by allegations about abuses of human rights by the Colombo government.
In our adjacent South East Asia, Myanmar last year demonstrated its increasing willingness about pursuing democratic reforms, though democracy there still remains a long way. Thailand faced convulsions in the later part of 2013 by an opposition movement, demanding reforms in the system of governance. Mid-term polls have been set there for February 02, but the scene in Thailand has been further complicated by the announcement of a boycott of the polls by the opposition.
The year, 2013, saw the flaring up of global tensions to a considerable extent, involving the big powers cantering the Syrian civil war; it was the most catastrophic event in the international arena for the whole year. The world's only super power- the United States - was about to attack Syria militarily, but a last-minute US-Russia deal on Damascus's chemical weapons saved the situation from a bigger war. Nonetheless, the Syrian conflict continues to rage, taking a toll of huge human lives and causing all round havoc.
The election of a relatively moderate president in Iran is helping the cessation of long-running hostilities with the US over the former's nuclear programme. The Stalinist North Korea came close to a war with rival South Korea and its main ally, the United states, but the former rolled back from the brink of a wider conflict, although the fears of war have not fully receded. The Middle East situation showed no sign of improvement as the hawkish Tel Aviv government turned a blind eye to the need for peace.
Some positive developments notwithstanding, the world scenario in 2013 was largely unstable and quite volatile in some cases. Hopefully, things will improve in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the new year, even though the possibilities about such hopes being dashed down in many cases can not be ruled out.
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