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The Daily Star's wish list: A far cry

M.Hafizuddin Khan
One of the basic elements of a democratic government is that it is a government by discussion and consensus.
But ever since we got elected government in 1991 no government has held any discussion with the party in opposition and tried to arrive at a consensus in running the affairs of the state.***
THE Daily Star's 19-point wish list published in its edition dated 6th January, in line with the election pledge of the Awami League (AL) Government reflects the hopes and aspirations, not of the AL but also of the nation as a whole. Fulfillment of the wishes so enumerated would have indeed resulted in "Din Badal" and would have profound effect towards achieving good governance in the country and establishment of a truly democratic polity. What are chances for these to be fulfilled?
Resolve stalemate over caretaker government:
• The 15th amendment of the Constitution
hurriedly passed by the Parliament has abolished the caretaker system. While doing so, the judgment of the Supreme Court, which recommended two more elections under caretaker government as well as the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee constituted for suggesting amendments of the Constitution, was ignored. Ever since the 15th Amendment was enacted the Prime Minister has been all out to support the abolition of, and to vehe-mentiy criticise the caretaker government. The Cabinet members and the party henchmen have joined the bandwagon. One of the arguments against the caretaker government professed by the AL is that the system is not in conformity with a democratic order.
• This is definitely a valid point. But the question is whether all other essential elements, legal or conventional, for a true democracy are prevailing in the country? Besides, being Prime Minister she is the party chief, and the leader of the House.
• The Constitutional provision that one-tenth of the total number of members of the Cabinet can be appointed from nonmembers of Parliament cannot be regarded as democratic by any standard. In addition, there are Advisers, unknown in a parliamentary system, with the rank and status of Cabinet Ministers and they are attending cabinet meetings and participating in the decision making process of the Cabinet.
• Further, the 15th Amendment stipulates that the Cabinet and the Parliament shall remain intact and shall not stand dissolved during the general election is a gross violation of parliamentary democratic principles and this is not in vogue in countries having Westminster type of government such as UK, Canada, India, Australia or New Zealand. So, with so many undemocratic elements in our political system why it became essential to abolish caretaker system on the plea that it does not conform to democratic norms is a mystery and the stalemate is not likely to be resolved. It should be mentioned here that all the three credible elections in the country were held under caretaker government.
Form an acceptable election commission
• The Hon'ble President had taken an initiative to arrive at a consensus for forming the next Election Commission A new CEC and four ECs have been appointed which has been rejected by the BNP However, The EC's attempt to evolve a legal system for constituting an acceptable election commission has failed. The Government did not respond at all to the suggestions put forward by the Election Commission, nor has it paid any heed to the recommendations of the civil society in this regard. No initiative has ever been taken by any government to enact any law governing the constitution and appointment of the Election Commission in compliance with the provision of Article 118 of the Constitution. The same is the case with all other Constitutional bodies, viz Public Service Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and, above all, the Judiciary. Make the Parliament functional:
• From the fifth Parliament onwards the opposition has been boycotting the parliament without any rhyme or reason and it has become a tradition. There is no justified, reason for boycotting parliament and nowhere in the democratic world is there any precedence of boycotting parliament by the opposition. No amount of persuasion and argument has yielded any change in the attitude and mindset of our political parties.
• Our Parliament has never witnessed any serious discussion, on the floor of the House, on any national policy or issue or public importance. The standard of debate and discussion taking place in the Parliament is anything but satisfactory and worthy of a Parliament of a modern state.
Stop confrontational politics:
• As of now no party has ever shown any eagerness to bring an end to confrontational politics. The situation is worsening day by day and nobody can tell what will happen as the nation proceeds towards next election. One of the basic elements of a democratic government is that it is a government by discussion and consensus. But ever since we got elected government in 1991 no government has held any discussion with the party in opposition and tried to arrive at a consensus in running the affairs of the state.
Make local government bodies effective:
• Yes, this is being professed by the political leaders regularly but they are doing just the opposite (applicable to both the major parties). The MPs have been imposed on the Upazilas and their advice has been made binding on it. The recent amendment of the Upazila Act has worsened the situation further because the Upazila Nirbahi Officer has now become Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman is the Head of the Upazila and the Parliament Member is the final authority. So three bosses now exist in an Upazila and it seems that a hodgepodge situation has been created by this Act.
• The appointment of administrators of the Zila Parishad is a direct violation of the Constitution. The Dhaka City Corporation has been bifurcated without any acceptable justification. High Court's judgment as early as 1992 for holding election in all the tiers of local government and the constitutional provision that 'Local government in every administrative unit of the Republic shall be entrusted to bodies, composed of persons elected in accordance with law' have been violated. From the activities of the government it does not appear that it is willing to allow autonomous functioning of the local government institutions.
Make the Anti-Corruption Commission stronger:
• Making the Anti-Corruption Commission stronger warrants strong commitment at the political level to eradicate corruption. The starting point to fight corruption is the political commitment on the part of the government. But we are yet to see any such commitment. Of course we hear lip service that corruption will not be tolerated but we find the trend just the opposite. Rather a bill to curtail the powers of the Commission has been lying with the Parliament and any time it can be passed into law.
Ensure full independence of the Judiciary:
• A lofty goal, no doubt. But appointment to the Judiciary is still being made as per the relevant constitutional requirements and the requirement under Article 95 (2) (c), to frame law prescribing qualifications for appointment to the Supreme Court, remains unfulfilled. The demand that the process of appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court should be in a transparent manner has fallen on deaf ears and the Supreme Judicial Commission created by the last caretaker government has not been ratified by the present Government.
• The Supreme Court has not yet got a Secretariat of its own. The Constitution provides that the appointment of the Chief Justice is the discretionary power of the President. But the system of appointment of the President himself as has been provided in our constitution leaves room to feel that it is unlikely that the President will take decision on his own.
Thus it appears that the Daily Star's wish list will remain a pious wish only and there exists very little chance of their being implemented.