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Crisis over next polls looming

AL-led govt steps into last year in office; PM to address nation today

Shakhawat Liton
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government enters fifth and final year today amid a looming crisis over peaceful transition of power through ballots, exposing the fragile state of country's democracy.
As per the current constitutional provision, the country will go to the parliamentary elections anytime after October 27 this year. The polls must be held on or before January 24,2014. This means less than ten months is left and politics is undoubtedly going to dominate the final year of the Awami League-led government.
Unfortunately, when the largest battle of ballots is round the corner, politics regains its old face of confrontation. It reminds people of the two previous crises taking place in between 1994 and early 1996 and again in between 2005 and early2007.
There is no sign of a political consensus yet to break the looming political standoff over the mode of electiontime government after cancellation of the caretaker
system in June 2011. Both the rival sides — AL and BNP — remain rigid in their respective stances on the mode of the transitional government.
Even if there is any move to hold talks between the two camps to overcome the crisis, possibility of success is very slim as the past records show how their stubbornness stood on the way of a peaceful compromise.
Given the situation, it is almost certain the BNP-led opposition will gear up street agitation as a last resort to force the government to install a nonpartisan polls-time cabinet.
Previous experience suggests the opposition camp is encouraged to intensify the street agitation as the government's tenure comes to its end.
So, the AL-led government may need to spend much of its strength to tackle
the opposition's agitation in the coming days. And when it will do so, governance issue may get less importance, which may cause law and order slide.
Interestingly, popularity of the main opposition BNP is increasing although they have miserably failed to perform a positive and constructive role in and outside parliament.
It has been possible due mainly to failure of the government to deliver
properly, causing occurrence of some major incidents like stock market crash, Hall-Mark-loan scam, Padma bridge scandal, Biswajit murder, among others. Moreover, controversial and violent activities of ruling party men including some ministers and MPs have worsened the situation.
Even the government may not be able to take credits of many of its achievements if it failed to overcome the growing political standoff and ensure the opposition parties' participation in the next polls.
If peaceful transition of power alone is enough to demonstrate maturity of a country's democracy, Bangladesh had never experienced it since restoration of democracy even through a mass upsurge against autocratic HM Ershad regime in 1990.
The present state of democracy keeps mocking at the incumbent and previous governments' claims that they have contributed to consolidation of democracy.
The country faced crisis of peaceful transition of power twice when Khaleda Zia-led BNP was in power in between 1991-1996 and 2001-2006. The present ruling AL, while in opposition led by Sheikh Hasina launched vigorous street agitations against Khaleda's governments both the times.
The AL-led alliance also launched agitations against lajuddin Ahmed-led caretaker government at the end of2006 and early 2007.
Before the 2001 parliamentary polls the situation was different and the country did not face acute crisis of transition of power. But large-scale violence before and after
the polls had destroyed the atmosphere for peaceful power transition.
The country is again facing the same crisis when Hasina-led AL is in power and Khaleda-led opposition is on the streets waging agitation.
PM ADDRESSES NATION TODAY
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the nation today as the Awami League-led government enters the final year of its tenure.
Her speech will be recorded anytime of the day and aired this evening by Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and all private television channels, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
She is expected to highlight her government's successes and efforts in the last four years, Mahabubul Alam Hanif, prime minister's special assistant, told The Daily Star last evening.
"The prime minister may also seek cooperation from all to maintain political stability in the country for the sake of its economy. And she may urge the main opposition to return to parliament and place their demands, if they have any, shunning the path of violence," he added.
The BNP-led opposition has been agitating to realise the demand for a nonpartisan election time government.
With a vision for change and a digital Bangladesh by 2021, the AL-led grand alliance began its journey on January 6,2009, after its landslide victory in December2008 elections.
And the day Hasina's cabinet steps into the fifth year, the opposition parties will be on the streets to enforce a dawn-to-dusk hartal in protest at the recent fuel price hike.