#Title

While politics unfolds on the streets, elections hang in the air
PHOTO: AMRAN HOSSAIN
Bangladesh is once again at a crossroads. The country needs the upcoming parliamentary election to be a free, well-participated one in order to restore its credentials and meet people’s expectations. It is time to choose our representatives again and ensure a peaceful transfer of power to the next government so that we can return to the task of self-governance. Are we ready for the task, though?
At the mature age of 52 but with no stable system of electoral governance and transfer of power in sight, Bangladesh is reeling under internal turmoil, external pressures, and poor leadership.
Our politics has been tumultuous over the years. After the country’s return to democracy in 1991, our political journey over the past 32 years has demonstrated behavioural patterns in ruling and opposing parties that have mired the possibilities of a healthy political culture aligned with the expectations of a “sane” society that could have been a green ground to grow and nurture democracy. Instead, it has been ruthlessly trampled upon, turning it into a wasteland where nothing but distrust and hatred can grow. Today, right before our 12th parliamentary election, we witness a fierce battle for the highest seat of governance where all decisions are made, with the major parties, unfortunately, convinced that if you cannot keep your grip on the streets, you are doomed!
Based on what we have witnessed over the last few months, it appears the streets are more important than the parliament, the kingsmen are more important than the judiciary, and groups of sycophants and loyalists are more important than voters!
Why, then, would a political party elected to power build or strengthen democratic institutions? It does not support the “street control strategy.” And why would a political party in opposition not do everything to obstruct the smooth functioning of parliament? Again, it does not comply with the street strategy. As a result, they all choose the streets to be their “seat of governance.” All political parties, big or small, thus have the same political ideology. And if you cannot join or support the skirmishing sides, it does not matter for whom you vote; you may not reach the polling booth, while agents of certain political parties may make sure that you don’t seem “disenfranchised.” Isn’t that nice? The system works. No one is left behind. This is what happened in 2018.
There is no doubt that to win an election, you need to have “street wisdom,” an uninterrupted flow of money, and an army of loyalists.
No one can beat the ruling party when it comes to street wisdom. With decades of experience, they are the maestro of street agitations: they have won many battles on the streets. The flow of money is no problem either. The parliament is now at the centre of our business world and in the hands of business tycoons. Free market policy provides them access to our reserves. The problem of money has been solved!
As for the loyalists, opposition parties provide an additional force. They break into splinter groups headed by “tribal chieftains” who are satisfied with a few crumbs from the pie. They can also form the much-needed “trusted” opposition. That, too, is done.
And in all this, where does the Election Commission (EC) stand? With the public administration and home ministries still beyond its control and an RPO that reduces its powers, as well as an unrelenting political grip over its functioning, the EC is in a state of limbo – dangling in thin air, watching from above as the street fights continue.
The street fights will likely take lives if the present trend holds, as they have in the past. It will hurt vulnerable voters and “those who do not belong.” Fear of losing power and a backlash, and the existential fear of not getting to power, are tearing the political parties apart. All sides have to work to reduce fear in the others. The prognosis is the “coming of a new tragedy.”
But it need not be so if they leave the streets – if the parties come to the table to talk and concede on an all-party approach, as they did in 1991 and again in 2008. We, the tired citizens of Bangladesh, are waiting for our political parties to put behind an era of hatred and violence, and embrace compassion and forgiveness, so that this nation can move forward and be free from the prison of the past.
Sharmeen S Murshid
is an election analyst and chief executive officer of Brotee, a civil society organisation.