Taufiqur Rahman

A democratic process requires transparent and accountable election where approved political parties can present their mandates to the public so that each person can decide which party and individual should receive his or her vote. Only people can decide which leaders should be elected. The Election Commission is responsible for conducting a free and fair election without any interference from the government in power.

Unfortunately, the previous government undermined the principles of fair and transparent election, denying opposition a fair chance to compete in 2024 election. Corrupt officials from top to bottom were mobilised to ensure that only the party in power and their friends became Members of Parliament. The unhappy public could not organise themselves to protest the sham election. This undermined the fair process of governance, destroyed the accountable chain of command required under rule of law, and increased violation of basic human rights. People have had enough of unfair governance practices. The unfair quota system provided the right incentive for students and public to protest. Killing of innocent persons mobilised the country to bring down the government.

The purpose of sacrifices made by our people should not be forgotten. Our youth have spoken for a strong democracy where people’s voices will determine national actions and policies. Freedom, rule of law, corruption-free governance, and accountability of elected officials are cornerstones of their demand. As a nation, we must commit to governance and political reforms as pre-conditions to election. However, we are not talking about re-inventing the wheel, rather incremental changes and improvements which will strengthen accountability, implementation systems, and rule of law. Expertise on such incremental improvements should be used. We need to start the process of international confidence building in Bangladesh by creating the right environment for investments, development finance, freedom of speech, independent media, and rule of law.

The previous government undermined the governance and democratic system by consolidating absolute power in the Executive branch i.e. Prime Minister’s office.  They also facilitated rampant corruption in all branches of government including law enforcement agencies. They smuggled out an unthinkable amount of money from our banks and deposited it in their overseas accounts, thus putting the country’s economy at serious risks. They put party over country, thus allowing party people to behave like powerful thugs and consider themselves above the law.

Good governance requires separation of powers. The separation divides governmental power among three branches by vesting the Legislative Power in the Parliament; the Executive Power in the Prime Minister; and the Judicial Power in the Supreme Court and lower courts. It promotes a workable and collaborative government through the interdependence and sharing of power among the three branches and incorporates various checks so that each branch could exercise against the actions of the other two branches to resist encroachments and unfair policies. Our constitution must be updated to reflect separation of powers to ensure checks and balances. A group of legal and constitutional experts led by Law Adviser can accomplish this task of updating the constitution. As for the Prime Minister (PM), it may be prudent to consider direct election of PM through popular votes as opposed to current system of majority party leader automatically becoming PM. We can adjust the democratic system to the unique needs of Bangladesh. And that establishes accountability of the PM’s office directly with the people.  People will decide who will become the PM.

Good governance also requires free press i.e. media freedom.  However, media freedom must enshrine the principle of responsible journalism. Investigative and research skills of journalists must be improved.

Without having in place good governance building blocks, an election will not result in the right outcome. Our youth will not accept another decade of bad governance and undemocratic practices.

 Good governance also requires a transparent and fair election system. The Election Commission must be allowed to function independent of the existing government. The Election Commissioner and his team must be selected transparently. Corrupt people and people with criminal records should not be approved to seek any elected leadership positions. This policy must be made clear to political parties so that they know the rules of selecting candidates for election. Electronic voting systems must be tested for functionality before the election.  Manual voting should remain an option where functional EVM is not possible. However, most importantly, the EC should ensure that no one is bullied to vote for candidates they do not want. Therefore, local thugs should be dealt with swiftly and with full force of law. Any election related violation must be quickly tracked for immediate legal actions.

The students demanded an environment of non-discrimination, racial and religious harmony, and rule of law. They have spoken for a free Bangladesh where they can pursue their dreams and live in peace.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided to step down recently, this is what he said, “Politics cannot function without public trust.” And that is the truth for any country’s democracy including Bangladesh. Therefore, pre-conditions to election should be governance and political reforms, and unwavering commitment to execution of rule of law. A timeline and work plan needs to be presented by the Interim government to assure the students and the public about its commitment to complete required reforms and holding a general election.
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The writer is an international development expert.  Email: [email protected]