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PM's gift: A voterless election

Fresh polls idea is positive but poll time government must be headed by someone acceptable to all

Mahfuz Anam
WE may recall this fabled message from a doctor to the patient's family, "Operation is very successful; however the patient died soon after."
The Awami League and Sheikh Hasina may think that 'operation election' has been (or is going to be) very successful. However will the parliament that it will deliver
survive? Will the government that such a parliament will create have public support? Doesn't the PM run the risk of being stigmatised forever in history as the "Leader" of an un-elected House?
After several hundred years of democracy in the world, centuries old anti-colonial struggle for democracy in South Asia, twenty-four year struggle against Pakistan for our democratic rights, decade old struggle against military dictatorships and after 22 years of practicing democracy -in however flawed a manner - today we are forced to ask again what is democracy, what constitutes a democratic government and what are the rights of the people in a democracy?
And the reason for it is simple. Sheikh Hasina, her government and her party, have brought the situation to such a pass that we are forced to ask "are we living in democracy or in an elected 'dictatorship'?"
For, if we are living in democracy then aren't we supposed to have had a government which is our "servant" and not "master"? Are we not supposed to chose those who we want as our parliament members? Are we not entitled to express our WILL through a ballot? Are we not supposed to "elect" a government, through a vote?
If there is one single distinguishing feature between democracy and any all other forms of government, it is the right of every single voter in the country to vote freely. However, in the present elections voters have not been allowed to vote at all, leave alone freely.
As of today 154 candidates have become MPs without receiving a single vote. Which means out of 9.19 crore voters, approximately 5 crore have been totally deprived of their voting rights. For the remaining 146 seats the so-called election will be a total sham because those who will contest the AL candidates have never been known to get more than a few thousand votes leave alone win any election. So here also the voters will have been deprived of their "right" to vote as the election will provide no choice. Therefore the truth is the 10th Parliament is being established without the participation of the people, who are supposed to be the source of all power.
If people are not allowed to vote then there is no elected representative, and if there is no elected representative, there is no elected government. And if there is no elected government then what is the difference between the government that will be formed after January 5th and that of autocrat Gen. Ershad, that we replaced in 1991 after years of mass agitation?
Let us recall what is happening. The PM first formed what she called an "All party" election time government. Then she sat with those who joined the government and distributed seats among them, in some cases withdrawing able candidates from her own party, clearly proving that capacity of candidates was not an issue. She even said that if BNP had joined the poll-time government then she would have distributed seats with them.
What does it mean? That a few parties can sit together and distribute parliamentary seats among them, and then have them declared elected "uncontested" and then form a government with those who have been "selected" without getting a single vote? Is that the type of "representative" government we will now have to accept? Never, because it takes away our greatest source of pride and power - that we are the masters and we elect the government to serve us, the people. As voters we can never ever accept this also because it opens up the future possibility
of contrived seat distribution and "uncontested" elections, leading to government formation totally bypassing the voters.
We want to tell the prime minister and the AL that it is no longer a matter between the ruling party and the opposition. It is between the voters and the un-elected parliament that is being forced upon us. Election belongs to the people and we feel that it has been taken away from us. And again, we as voters cannot and will not accept this.
We urge the prime minister to please understand that she is heading towards a new parliament that will have a majority of its MPs "uncontested" and who will not have received a single vote in their constituencies. The 146 "elected" will come through one-sided polls. Therefore both these groups of MPs will have no standing in the national public eye and no prestige in their respective localities save what they will be able to buy with money and enforce with 'mastans'. This can in no way be good for democracy which she proclaims to enshrine in all her actions.
There is a different path the PM can follow. The first hint of that we heard yesterday when she announced her willingness to abandon the present election and call for a fresh one very soon if the opposition calls off hartals and other destructive activities. This shift is welcome and is the first sign that she is admitting that the way she has bulldozed forward with the present elections hasn't worked. But it is "too little too late". The fundamental issue of "trust deficit" remains at the core. BNP has no reason to trust any future election, howsoever many times it is held, under the present government. So any future election must incorporate the idea of a poll time government headed by a person that the both sides trust. This remains the key and this is where the PM has to show her true leadership.
If we look at the other side, Sheikh Hasina's government's performance has been quite impressive and widespread throughout her tenure. In the case of economic growth the present PM's record remains far above that of her arch rival, Khaleda Zia. Compared to 2008, under the present government the GDP growth has risen to 6.03 percent, per capita income rose to $1,044 from $630, export grew to $27 billion from $15.5. Over the last five years food stock was close to 10 lakh tons and remittances averaged $1 billion per month. Forex reserve reached $ 18 billion from $ 10 billion in 2010.
The PM personally and her government have earned huge public goodwill, especially from the pro-liberation forces and the younger generation, for being so steadfast in organising and holding the war crimes trials. The recent admiration for the PM has risen several notches for the courage with which she has withstood international pressure to abandon the trial or at least desist from carrying out the sentence.
The recent unconscionable actions of the BNP-Jamaat combine, especially the killing of innocent people through bus burning, setting people on fire, killing children, uprooting railway lines and mindless destruction of the economy have also turned off many people from the opposition.
All this can be turned into a formidable supportive force behind the AL and its leader. This can help the present ruling party in putting up a good fight in the next election.
But for that to happen Sheikh Hasina must restore her trust in the voters and give them a free and fair election. Outvoters have elected her twice, and may do so again. But for that to happen voters must be trusted and not bulldozed into a contrived election.
People who advised her to abolish CTG to ensure her victory in elections have led her to the path of selfdestruction. Abolishing the CTG has been her single biggest and costliest mistake, and one that will be hardest for her to accept. But swallowing that bitter pill is far better than being guilty of destroying democracy or "winning" a voterless election.