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Talking Polls and Beyond

It is the responsibility of the people to plus or minus somebody
Dr. Harunur Rashid, has served as the Dhaka University dean of social science faculty since 2003. He obtained honours in 1975 and master degree the next year from the department of political science of Dhaka University. He obtained PhD in political science on a Commonwealth scholarship from University of London in 1983. He is now serving as editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh and Dhaka University's Social Science Review. Shamim Ashraf took the interview.
How much reform has taken place, howmuchofit will last?
The National Identity Card has been prepared, the judicial)' separated from the executive, die Election Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission reconstituted. There are some successes. But there is a question about how long these will last, the answer to which can be found after an elected government comes to power.
All the successes failed to attract people's attention due to the government's failure to rein in the price of essentials. Besides, the people of Bangladesh do not want to see an unelected government for a long time. They want other issues of their lives addressed, not only corruption. The number one concern for people is the price of essentials, not political reform. But I don't think the reform of institutions and the political system and culture will altogether fail. The attempts will have a positive effect on the people. How do you evaluate the advancement since 1/11?
I don’t think the country will plunge back to the pre-1/11 days. 1/11 and following exercises will not go futile, they will have a positive impact on the political culture, parties' and leaders' realisation and behaviour, and we will seea reflection of it.
Now, the political parties are responding, even by changing their
party constitutions and turning their front organisations into associated organisations. But it is not possible to bring major changes to the political culture in just 20 months. Being part of a competitive global society, we need uninterrupted democracy, we can't continue with an ad-hoc system. The very fact that there is no elected government is pushing away business.
Do you apprehend recurrence of 1/11?
Political leaders need to do soul searching to understand why 1/11 took place. After the caretaker governments' successes in 1991, 1996 and 2001, the BNP-Jamaat government extended the retirement age of the chief justice from 65 to 67, triggering political instability. Mannan Bhuiyan and Abdul Jalil failed to show wisdom during their dialogue, thus frustrating the people.
Those whose intervention we don't want ultimately got a chance.
Such intervention will take place in future if political leaders cannot feel the need of norms, values and rules of the game. It is true that 1/11 shook the political culture from above. But there is no reason to think that it wall make everything perfect and bring full realisation to politicians. It is through a political process that corrections and
reforms take place.
VVhat mistakes has the government made?
The government adopted a wrong strategy by arresting politicians and, in many cases, their family members indiscriminately, sending a message of aggression to tire people. You know people do not like anything aggressive, and their sympa-thy went even to a corrupt person if he was tortured.
There is a kind of fear among the people that the ACC can apply its power. But an institution cannot run only on fear. The minus two theory also failed. There was an attempt to create pro-reformist and non-reformist division among political parties by excluding the two leaders.
Can the Progressive Democratic Party or Kalyan Party be any alternative? AL and BNP have emerged through the political stream of the country over a long time, and cannot be negated. And the two steams are so strong that no one can break those and form new streams overnight.
Has the government or the EC retreated from reforms?
It is not unusual in politics that there will be give and take. Realising the political dynamics, the government and the power backing it is giving concession and, thus, entering into the dynamics. If the government
can do it now, why didn't it do so in the beginning? That was not a politics approach. Granting of so many bails in a short time shows that the system is controlled from somewhere. If that is true, can we say the judiciary has really become independent? The way they dealt with the two leaders was totally wrong; they have to release them now.
What could be the proper approach?
The government could have taken the two former prime ministers into confidence at the beginning, opened a dialogue, and sought their help and involvement in implementing its plans. The parties supported the government in the beginning, and would continue with the initiatives after the election had the government involved them in the process.
The government could ask them to drive out the corrupt from their parties, and not to nominate them for elections. Had they taken this positive approach, the result could be different. Now the government is compelled to go to the two leaders' houses. Without realising die political and social reality of the country, the government wanted to change everything by using force. If that could be done, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and post-independent army rulers would have succeeded.
What can ensure democracy in political parties?
There are many parties that practice democracy. The left-leaning organisations practice it, even the AL practices it to some extent. The BNP's constitution, which is chairperson-centred, will possibly be changed. The Jatiya Party and Jamaat are also going to change.
For better democratic practice, we not only need debate, discussion and a legal framework, but also realisation among politicians.
Those who mould opinion, like the civil society and the media, will have to propagate this, and there should be some legal compulsion at the same time.
How do you sec the reform In the EC?
The EC had several sessions of discussion with parties, and I would say they are on the right track. But it will pass the final test through holding of a peaceful and fair election where people will be able to express their will through ballot without any problem. But if any unseen power influences the election, all the successes of the EC will go in vain.
I support the provision of having 1 /3 women in parties and associate organisations. But I oppose dissolution of the foreign branches of political parties because those come to help during different disasters. If the law in those countries allows them, why should we oppose it?
How to ensure transparent financial dealings of political parties?
There was practice of auditing party funds during the British period, but it is absent in Bangladesh. I don't support letting the dealings go unaccounted. However, if democratic leadership does not develop in a party, only a transparent account won' t bring any good.
How to make the parties break away from the political culture?
Leaders need to practice self-criticism. Politicians need to search their souls, and reach an agreement regarding relations between the opposition and the ruling party, and on how to make the parliament function. AL and BNP represent two conflicting political streams, and there are differences in their origins and characteristics. So, we won't see a stop to the confrontational politics soon.
Is there any need at all to bring
them to a table?
If they realise that they need to sit, they themselves will initiate this; no third party will be needed. Jalil and Mannan Bhuiyan talked, but what result could they show?
What's your opinion of the so-called "minus-two" formula?
It was a blunder by the government The two leaders are very much "plus" now because they were freed even after filing of so many cases against them; advisers rushed to their houses to hold dialogue with them.
It is the responsibility of the people to plus or minus somebody. When you do it yourself, it means that you are a stakeholder, and you can no longer play the role of an umpire. Many think the government is still pursuing that. If that happens to be true, it'll bring bad luck to all of us. The two leaders have emerged from our political culture and cannot just be written off.
Do you still see any uncertainty about election?
There is still an uncertainty among the people. It will go once the election schedule is announced and parties declare their participation. If there is any kind of manipulation of the elections, or the allegation of seat-sharing is true, it'll be counterproductive. People will then think that the pledges the government made were a hoax, that their real objective was different. Any deviation from holding the elections on the scheduled date will cause confrontation among the political parties and the government, and political instability.
How to keep away the corrupt elements from state power?
We can just do advocacy and have nothing to do if the people do not receive it. Some people who were facing corruption allegations were
victorious in the city and municipal elections. It is not unlikely that similar people will come out victorious in the parliamentary elections. Maybe there’ll be some changes in the nomination practice. There is a difference between moral turpitude and political dynamics.
Can't we hope for honest candidates then?
Surely we can. But we won't get them soon.
Do you support election under the emergency?
Emergency needs to be withdrawn at this very moment. If the parties do
not behave properly or there is violence, the president can reimpose it anytime locally. Emergency was withdrawn in Pakistan during the elections. There were many problems in India, but they didn't need army intervention.
Army intervention in Pakistan caused disintegration, and now the state is about to turn into a failed state; army rule or emergency failed to stop the rise of corruption and extreme militancy. While, in India, the EC and an independent judiciary developed through the practice of democracy.