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Analysing the Political Scenario : Let Goodsense Prevail

byTMASamad
AFTER the dissolution of the Parliament. the nation ex pected that the government would bring in a breakthrough to the question of non-partisan caretaker government and the opposition would also withdraw their agitational programmes. Unfortunately. there Is yet no sign of resolving the stalemate: rather the country perhaps is heading towards a catastrophe. I am to note with great sadness that 25 years after Independence from tyrant Pakistani rule all those sacrifices made by the sons and daughters of the soil in the liberation war seem to have been made in vain. An. act of hypocrisy — a system characterised by' Intolerance and mistrust — is ritualised In politics in our society.
It Is really painful and not desirable that after ousting the autocratic government of the former president H M Ershad, when the country was heading towards an expected smooth-sailing of democracy, the en masse ■ resignation of the opposition MPs should strike a severe blow to the growth of democracy. If we analyse the pre-
sent political stalemate it seems that the main reasons are intolerance, crisis of confidence. putting self and party interests above national interest, lack of appreciation that democracy can only be run through effective consultation with the opposition and. above all. indifference to people's right and lack of regard for democracy.
Though it is difficult to pinpoint the precise reason for the stalemate nevertheless if some one ponders over the question the answer perhaps will‘come as ruling party's tendency to overlook problems and taking the tactics of time, klllingi; keeping the problems urtreSplved. Say. for example, when the bill to create a permanent provision for holding elections under a caretaker gov-. ernment was tabled in the parliament tfce stalemate was' not created then, and it wouldn't have been created if the bill was discussed in the House to avoid political bedlam.
Lack of Initiative ct
The crisis could perhaps be resolved if the government took the initiative to settle the political issue with political wisdom. Now the situation has been compu-' cated over the time and has come to such a pass that there seems no way out but to elections under a caretaker government. Here, I do hold the opinion that the question of opposition de-
mand of holding the election under caretaker government stands almost Justified after the Magura. Mirpur by-elections which were allegedly beyond the ethics of electorate norms and code. If the ruling party makes a mistake there is no harm to admit it and such honest move would always carry a plus point for them.
If we look back then it reveals that when the main op position party first walked out of the parliament on a irresponsible remark of a minister. that could have been a brief walkout had the minister' expressed regret and apologised in time which is the normal practice of parliament The opposition, however, also should have returned to the parliament as they had protested against through walkout.
Unfortunately, it continued and present political stalemate is the cumulative effect of accusation from both sides. Political sagacity calls for seizing opportunity at the right moment for an amicable settlement and this initiative should have come from the ruling party; the ruling party is the senior partner in the
political business and should take the opposition into confidence and treat them as partners in the democratic " process. In fact, understanding between the ruling party and the opposition is a precondition for running a meaningful.democracy. Negative attitude of the politicians is the main cause of this political pandemonium.
Since the government is for the people, and for their interest so there should not be any tendency'of bypassing a problem, rather the government should be wise enough and have the unwavering courage to face any challenge and, make complex Issues simpler and iiat make simple issues more complex. We nave seep in the past as also we do now that the ruling party claims as the real Satriot and custodian of emocracy and the opposition is always blamed to be on the path of destruction and ruining democratic values. ‘Perhaps this accusation is always not true and brings in confrontational attitude rather than harmony. On the other hand, the opposition also should not be miserly in duly, acknowledging instead . of drawing a curtainion ruling party's achievements. In fact that should be the spirit and magnanimity of leadership.
In any democracy the opposition should also have the patience and wait for their turn in the next general election. Meanwhile, they
must work in and outside the parliament in a constructive, well-thought out manner and with non-violent attitude in the Interest of country and the people and continue to log in ruling party's mistakes, whims and corruption, if any. and make people aware of them. At the same time they should project their plans and programmes, both political and economic, so that people can take all these Into consideration tn casting their votes In the future election. To resign from the parliament and go to the street, apparently for power, is not good politics, and not envisaged as democratic practice.
Speaker's Ruling
The political firmament became clouded after the ruling of the Speaker mentioning the resignation of 144 members of the parliament constitutionally unreceivable. It was stated on behalf of those who resigned that the decision of the Speaker was incorrect and unacceptable and their resignation did stand. I personally
feel that the Honble Speaker s ruling would have been more straight forward as well as convincing if he had proceeded on the basis of the English version of Article 67(2) of our Constitution and Rule 177(1) of the Rules of Procedure adopted by the parliament. Ruling no doubt was given basea on reasons and in the light of interpretation of the Constitution. Speaker in his ruling mentioned that members of the parliament had the right to resign, but that right was backed by an obligation to represent the constituency from which a member had been elected. Resignation . should hot be" used aS a weapon hindering,the democratic process as a whole. His logic in this regard is abso--lutely right but keeping the issue of resignation hanging for long and subsequent dillydallying in sending it to the President and later on to the Supreme Court for opinion was not perhaps necessary when the Constitution has given the Speaker absolute authority to decide the matter on his own.
Both the ruling party and the opposition collectively suffered and sacrificed a lot in ousting the autocratic government of H M Ershad. If they had done it in the interest of the country, the people and democracy then it was their responsibility to ensure collectively that the democratic process' was not hin-
dered. Unfortunately it appears that the main goal of politics that they have since been pursuing is power. Power Is no doubt very lucrative but then the phobia of losing power always works In mind. And histery reveals that those who cannot shake off this evil from mind and thus cannot come out from the clutch of illusion, fall into the trap.
Tnntitiitinnaliaing Democracy
It is true that democracy cannot be institutionalised overnight. But if we take lessons from others, perhaps things will Improve. Few days back, if I remember correctly. an American weekly published a feature on democracy in South Africa where It nad rightly pointed out that "free election and a noble Constitution do help, but first and foremost, a democracy needs democrats." It is true that without free and fair election democracy does not stand but without easy process of electing honest persons of principle democracy will
never.be institutionalised. Hence an easy mechanism to elect honest people is also very important factor.
we have had great leaders in the past on whom the nation could repose its trust. Their Integrity, simplicity and accessibility made profound impression on people. Unfortunately, this is lacking now.
The ruling party has failed to keep its promise made through the "three alliances”. They did not take any step to. separate the Judiciary from the Executive. Such separation is essential to keep the Judiciary above partisan ia-nueneesand;. to;; implement the laws impartially.' The failure of implementing laws Impartially is the resultant terrorism that persists in the society, particularly in educational institutions.
1 may quote from Viscount Bryce on the role of Judiciary In preserving the democratic Institutions: There is no better test of excellence of a government than the efficiency of Its Judicial system, for nothing more nearly touches the welfare and se curity of an average citizen than his sense that he can rely on the certain and Jirompt administration of list ice.
Unfortunately we have failed to build viable institution that could guarantee the rule of law and support continuing economic growth of the country. Here I would
like to quote from the statement of hon ble Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia while addressing a group of lawyers tn her 30. Hare Road residence that there can be development and prospects only If there is rule of law and a democratically elected government in the country. No one can differ with this statement because rule of law is a basic pre-requisite to democracy and any progress in the country. Now what is needed is its implementation. Commitment should be translated into action and there lies the solution. We should always bear in mind that a stable economy and stable political order cannot be built up In an unstable society. A strong social fabric is a prerequisite to Bustainabil-ity.
Again the honble Prime Minister has rightly said in a national seminar "Bangladesh Facing the 21st Century” that none of our politics and re-forms would succeed until we are successful in alleviating poverty and empowering our people. As a matter of fact unemployment and frustration. as well as providing shelter and patronisation to miscreants under the umbrella of political party are breeding terrorism in this country. Hence, restructuring of the economy in a manner that ensures employment and income generating opportunities for the people at large is Inevitable, for this will turn the idle forces into a working force and reduce tension in the society.
There is no dearth of talents in this country and if the right path to political behaviour and economic development in context to our own situation and problems could be chosen where politicians, scholars and intellectuals could contribute together then possibly it would not be very hard to find out leaders as well as ways and means to solve our problems. . - 5" . .
'Constitutional Crisis’
The ruling party believes that rule by majority is the essence of democracy. Actually democracy is "the continuing practice of majority-rule and implies the corollary principle of "freedom of dissent". If today's, tainority is deprived of the path to ’become tomorrow's majority, rule in a' continuing sense would be dead.
However, at this stage I would like, to emphasise on one' point that the present crisis is political rather than constitutional and common people should not be misled under the banner of constitutional crisis.'
Our Constitution has given all the powers to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and further ordained that the Election Commission shall be independent in the exercise of its function. Article 118 (1) 4 Illustrates that it shall be the duty of all executive authorities to assist the Election Commission in the discharge of its function (Art 126).
It is encouraging to note that the newly appointed CEC Mr Justice A K M Sadeque has expressed his determination to ensure free, fair and impartial election, and rightly pointed out that he had no compulsion to satisfy any quarter since he cannot be terminated by anybody except a Judicial Council, be fore the completion of his tenure.
Now that all efforts to reach a political consensus on the issue of a caretaker neutral administration failed and the ruling party had decided to go to polls unilaterally, the political scenario in the country had undergone a radical transformation. We believe. under these circum-
stances. the Chief Election Commissioner has a very important role to play by declaring publicly that without participation of mainstream opposition. an attempt to hold election will not only be a futile exercise but also waste of resources which may even lead the country into very •unpredictable consequences.
Once the country is thrown into deep-water trouble, it will be well-neigh Impossible to salvage' it. we hope and believe Justice A K M Sadeque will be able to sustain his spirit and surpass th? commendable role of Mr T N Seeshan of India and Mr D K Silva of Sri Lanka by taking full advantage of our Constitution. The President at this stage can also rescue the nation from the current impasse exercising his, vested power within tne constitutional authority. However, he needs to act with strong wisdom and integrity beyond all doubts prejudice and bias that he belongs to the ruling party.
Context: Ramadan
We believe, the government will still find ways to avoid holding of election during the holy month of Ramadan and keeping mainstream political parties out of the electoral battle. We also believe the scale of violence, which is likely to follow such elections, will not only contribute to deterioration of law and order in the society but also tarnish the sanctity of the holy month which is bound to hurt the sentiment of the majority people.
However, for the sake of strengthening democratic institutions in the country I would venture to put forward some humble suggestions. The Constitution should be amended to provide for holding all parliamentary elections in future under a caretaker. neutral government. All political parties will be in equal position to contest in such elections. Continuity of bringing the highest Judiciary in the political arena perhaps will not be fair and justifiable because it will have a bad impact in the long run. Even in case of CEC it should not be necessary to appoint a Justice. We should keep the Judiciary above any/all controversy.
Restrictions
The Constitution may incorporate a provision that Kts restriction on the par-ment members' • right to resign. Any reason other than personal/health ground may come under careful examination on individual basis to avert any en masse resignation on political ground. The members of sitting parliament shall not be entitled to enjoy package of personal benefits and advantages by passing a new bill.
The South African model of transition to majority rule from the hated apartheid can serve as a glaring example of reconciliation among contesting parties. The Constitution may Incorporate amendments to consider the leader of the political party securing overwhelming majority as chosen prime minister. However, the ministerial portfolios will be distributed in proportion to the number of seats each party own in the parliament This system may help emergence of the tradition of constructive politics and democratic tolerance in general.
Last but not least I caution that failure to reach a political consensus will ultimately push the nation to-ward serious confrontation, violence and anarchy leading to the breakdown of a democratic political order.
The author is Prinetpal Training Officer. BARC