What’s Next for Bangladesh?
By Habib
Siddiqui
Bangladesh had her parliamentary election
on December 30, 2018 in which prime minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling alliance won
a third straight term winning more than 90 percent of the 300 seats contested. Five
candidates of the BNP and two candidates from its ally Gono Forum were elected,
while the ruling Awami League and its close allies bagged 267. The Jatiya
Party, an ally of the Awami League, came second with 20 seats. [An additional 50 seats are reserved for women that will be distributed based
on the proportional vote share of the contesting parties.]
Sunday's election was marred by
accusations of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and violence that killed at
least 19 people. Allegedly, most polling centers did not have observers from the
opposition parties thus allowing for colossal ballot stuffing even in
contested seats in which the opposition parties had little chance of winning. In
some centers, poll results showed more votes being casted than the total
eligible votes, giving credence to the opposition claims of a ‘farcical
election’ with massive vote rigging.
As has become quite routine in the
aftermath of any election held in Bangladesh (since 1991), the opponents
rejected the election outcome. Their seven elected reps did not take the oath
of office on Thursday, Jan. 3.
Western governments, including the
United States and the European Union, have condemned the election-day violence
and called for an investigation into a range of irregularities. The international
media and rights group showed evidences of vote rigging and asked for review of
such improprieties, a call that has been rejected by Sheikh Hasina. On
Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the run-up to the vote was
characterized by "violence and intimidation against the opposition ... and
the misuse of laws to limit free speech". An earlier report, dated Dec. 22, had
already described the pre-election atmosphere as “a climate of fear extending
from prominent voices in society to ordinary citizens.” “International donors, the United Nations and friends of
Bangladesh should remember that elections are about the rights of voters, not
those in power,” Brad
Adams, HRW’s Asia director, said in a statement.
Last Friday, January 4, 2019 the
United Nations joined the choir calling for an independent and impartial
investigation into the election in Bangladesh.
"We urge the authorities to
carry out prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all
alleged acts of violence and human rights violations related to the elections,
with a view to holding accountable those responsible, regardless of their
political affiliations," the United Nations said. "There are worrying
indications that reprisals have continued to take place, notably against the
political opposition, including physical attacks and ill-treatment, arbitrary
arrests, harassment, disappearances and filing of criminal cases." "Reports
suggest that violent attacks and intimidation,” the United Nations said, “have
been disproportionately carried out by ruling party activists, at times with
complicity or involvement of law enforcement officers."
The United Nations called on the
authorities to take urgent measures to prevent further reprisals, and to ensure
that law enforcement authorities exercised their powers in accordance with the
rule of law. It also urged the national Human Rights Commission to play an
independent and proactive role.
The Electronic Voting Machines were first used in this
election in six constituencies, which also came under criticism due to the
irregularities and polling officers voting on behalf of the voters and in favor
of the ruling government. According to the Wikipedia,
“In summary, it was the most
controversial election in the history of the country characterized by the
widespread vote rigging by ruling party activists with the assistance of
police, presiding officers and all state powers.”
This is a sad commentary! Before the
election there was some optimism in the air that this time with the
participation of opposition BNP (which sat out the previous general
election over its unmet demand for poll-time neutral, i.e., care-taker,
government) and the Jatiya Oikya Front (Gono
Forum) the election would be fair, thus allowing democracy to take a deeper
root in this country of nearly 160 million people. Apparently, all such hoopla came
to nothing. Bangladesh will have to live through its ignominy of being an
illiberal democracy for a foreseeable future!
After all, for democracy to benefit
the people, the government must be a participative one of the people, by the
people and for the people with checks and balances in place. Democracy cannot
blossom when there is no opposition or a tyranny of the majority that tramples
on the rights and privileges of the minority.
Bangladesh is, thus, back to square
one, and what we witnessed in the last election was almost a repeat of the
previous election results, which does not bode well for the country and its
people.
Did the ruling party need such vote
rigging to win the 2018 election? I didn’t think so. Despite many flaws,
including burgeoning corruption and politicization of all the wings of the
administration, the ruling alliance has had many positives that it could have
banked upon to cement its win in a fair election, even if held under a
care-taker government.
Last month, I had the opportunity of
attending a meeting of the US-settled non-resident Bangladeshi- (NRB) born engineers
in the Washington D.C. area that was organized by the NRB Council, USA. A video
about the progress that Bangladesh has made within the last few years, esp., in gender equality and economic growth was shown. During nearly 10
years of Hasina’s governance, per capita income has increased by nearly 150
percent, while the share of the population living in extreme poverty has shrunk
to about 9 percent from 19 percent, according to the World Bank.
Some experts
suggest that at the current rate of nearly 8 percent growth, Bangladesh
would cross the per capita income of India, by 2020, and is expected to turn
into a middle-income economy by 2024.
It’s an impressive list that should make anyone proud of being a Bangladeshi. I
wondered: where would Bangladesh be today if there was no corruption!
So, why this charade with the
election? I am told that the ruling alliance did not want to take any chance
and ended up re-engineering the entire process, thus, tarnishing the image of
Sheikh Hasina internationally. With the goodwill she had created globally, esp.
in the aftermath of Rohingya genocide, and the phenomenal scorecard of
achievement within the country, surely, she did not need foul
plays of her either too-enthusiastic or criminal and rowdy supporters
within the ruling party to solidify her election win in 2018.
As a well-wisher, my advice would be
that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina listen to the UN and carry out prompt,
independent, impartial and effective investigations into all alleged acts of
violence and human rights violations related to the elections, with a view to
holding accountable those responsible. If foul plays are proven, new and fair elections
should be held in those constituencies immediately to correct the previous
wrongful acts. Such by-elections would go a long way to restoring people’s
trust and salvaging her tarnished
image from being perceived as an authoritarian
who has turned Bangladesh into a de-facto one-party state, where the
ruling party has usurped the constitutional rights of its opponents and
common citizens. These measures would salvage
democracy, which the country needs badly to encourage foreign investment, and
attract NRBs and talented expatriates to fulfil her vision
for a ‘prosperous Bangladesh with no one left behind’.
Now that the election is over, and Sheikh
Hasina has been asked to form a new cabinet what is next for the opposition
parties? Do they have a forward-looking strategy that is peaceful and non-violent?
The BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia (74) is in
poor health and is serving time in prison after being convicted of embezzling
funds during her time as prime minister. With many of the party leaders behind
prison cells or facing trials, her party is in disarray. Her son, Tariq Zia,
groomed for leadership role, lives in the UK and risks prison time if he were
to return to Bangladesh due to various court verdicts against him. If the party
wants to be relevant in the future, it needs to develop a forward-looking
strategy minus the Zia factor.
The Gono Forum leader, Dr Kamal Hossain
(81), is an old man, and so are most of the leaders of the opposition parties, including
the Jatiya Party whose leader H. M. Ershad is ninety years old. All these major
parties, including the ruling Awami League (whose leader Sheikh Hasina is 71
years old), need to bring younger generation in the leadership
role by grooming individuals that are honest, moral, spiritual and intellectually
sharp.
As the unprecedented, fourth-time
Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina may like to improve Bangladesh’s ranking in media
freedom to strengthen this bedrock of democracy. Currently, the country is
ranked 146 out of 180 countries, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). She
may like to remove the draconian Digital
Security Act (DSA) that has been accused of spreading a climate of fear. The
sooner the better!
In the summer of 1992, Sheikh Hasina,
then the leader of opposition in the parliament, attended the Democratic Party
Convention in New York City. Accompanied by my wife (Eva) and infant (Hassan), I
spent half an hour with her at her hotel room in the Trump Plaza Hotel. We found
her to be loving, caring and sincere. I pray and hope that my perception is not
wrong and that she has the moral fortitude and intellectual foresight of doing
what is right towards strengthening democracy and making Bangladesh an envy of
South Asia by bettering the lives of all the citizens.
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