For good governance

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THE caretaker government has reiterated that all arrangements will be completed for holding the general election by the end of 2008. An electoral road-map was earlier announced by the reconstituted Election Commission (EC). That road-map clearly spells out the measures that the EC will be taking in pursuit of its goal of holding the next general election. All concerned would express the hope that the next elected government would be assuming power to run the affairs of the country in accordance with their expectation.
However, the people would not like to see the repetition of the past. Democracy must mean real improvement in the conditions of living for all sections of people. For that matter, the growth performance of the economy must be accelerated. But that growth has to be equitable and balanced. The country witnessed a marked increase in its economic growth rate during the last one and a half decades. But that has not contributed much in terms of real well-being of the people at large.
Endemic corruption, malgovernance and institutional malfunctioning have been persisting. These are the basic issues that must be addressed firmly by the future elected government. The caretaker government is doing its part of the job but it cannot set everything to order. We would, therefore, expect our politicians to mend their ways and lead the nation onto the path of better performance. For this to happen, the voters have the major responsibility to ensure that the future elected government serves their interests.
Abdul Haq
Narinda, Dhaka.