The effort should be mutual to hold a free and fair election

Awami League has been in power for the last two terms. In the election of 2008 they won a massive victory and in 2014 they got a walkover because of the non-participation of BNP in the election

Another general election is knocking at the door of Bangladesh. In two years a general election will be held to decide who will rule the country next. There are two large political groups in the country. One is under Awami League and another under BNP. In reality the major battle will be fought between these two parties. In 2014 BNP did not participate in the election on the plea that they would not take part under Awami League government. But the election was held and Awami League got an easy walkover to return to power. That was a great political folly on the part of BNP and its leadership realized it too late. This time all the signs are indicating that BNP will join the election. This has created a hopeful atmosphere in the politics of the country.

Awami League has been in power for the last two terms. In the election of 2008 they won a massive victory and in 2014 they got a walkover because of the non-participation of BNP in the election. BNP did their best to disrupt the election and afterwards tried to prove that the election was not valid. People did not listen to these allegations and Hasina government is running the country without any proper opposition in the Parliament. Now the scenario has changed. Awami League government is taking all steps to arrange a free and fair election in 2019 and BNP has also shown all signs that they will join the election.
If that happens and the contestant parties accept the verdict of the people without any objection then Bangladesh will enter into a new era and we can hope for a better democratic future. So far everything is going well. The president has appointed a search. From those names they will propose the names of election commissioners to the President.  The committee also discussed with the prominent members of the society about the political situation of the country and selection of the election commissioners. By the time this article will be published, the Search Committee might have sent their selection to the President and possibly the name of the Chief Election Commissioner will be known.
If BNP does not discover any fault in the formation of the election commission then the people of the country can expect that an election will be held with the participation of all the major parties. The country can get an elected government and we will be able to bury the past mistakes and failures. So far Awami League has shown their sincerity and eagerness to hold a free and fair election. The President is going to constitute an election Commission after wide consultations with the political leaders and eminent persons of the society. The ruling party had no hand-picked men in the search committee and an academic like Professor Syed Manzurul Islam, a man respected for his neutral views was also included in the search committee. This search committee also had discussions with a large number of people with different views. There has also been discussion of views among many people that if everything goes well, the next General election will be free and fair and Bangladesh will be free from the allegation that democracy does not work here.
Now the question is whether Awami League government can maintain their neutrality till the Election Day and BNP will not make any excuses to avoid the election with complaints- true and untrue. Democracy cannot walk on one leg. It needs both legs to be functional. Awami League and BNP, the two major parties of the country should agree to govern the country democratically. They should not indulge in any activities which hampers the growth of democracy. 
In the past, BNP tried their best to dislodge present government from power with violence and sometimes with dubious methods. It failed. If they want to remain in politics and come to power again they must choose peaceful method of democracy. On the other hand, Awami League should come out of their present self-complacency and should not expect that they will again come to power because BNP may follow their folly of the last election. Then the most unexpected may happen in the next election like American Presidential election.
There is both a good and bad sign in our present politics. The good sign is that so far Awami League has shown their sincerity to hold a fair election and BNP also has shown their eagerness to join the election though with mild reservations. I hope they will overcome this reservation and will not repeat their habit of casting suspicion on every action of the government and try to gain the support of the people with better political programme than Awami League. 
The bad sign in the Awami League is that the utterances and behaviour of many Awami League leaders and MPs often show that they do not need any political initiative to earn people's support again, but they will win the election simply with the popularity of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It seems they do not have to reform and make themselves acceptable to the people but the name Sheikh Hasina will be a talisman for their comfortable victory. They think they will not have to do anything to elect themselves but Hasina will do everything for them. This attitude is dangerous. 
The bad sign in BNP politics is that though they have come to realize their past folly of violent agitation or boycotting election and shown every sign that they intend to participate in the election, still there is a big gap between their intentions and utterances. Some top level BNP leaders are still spreading suspicion that their participation in the election remains a possibility not certainty. Still they are making some excuses and complaining against the ruling party and there is fear that they might repeat their past mistake. That may create uncertainty in Bangladesh again.
Both the major parties should realize that that they are opponents not enemies of each other and they should come to an understanding to mutually work together to  hold a free and fair election. To hold the country's independence and democratic unity both have responsibilities. If they ignore it the country may face an uncertain period again, especially when the whole world is holding their breath on what will happen after the Trump victory in America. Bangladesh should pre­pare itself to face any eventuality with its democratic unity.

 London, 02 February, Friday 2017

The effort should be mutual to hold a free and fair election

Awami League has been in power for the last two terms. In the election of 2008 they won a massive victory and in 2014 they got a walkover because of the non-participation of BNP in the election

Another general election is knocking at the door of Bangladesh. In two years a general election will be held to decide who will rule the country next. There are two large political groups in the country. One is under Awami League and another under BNP. In reality the major battle will be fought between these two parties. In 2014 BNP did not participate in the election on the plea that they would not take part under Awami League government. But the election was held and Awami League got an easy walkover to return to power. That was a great political folly on the part of BNP and its leadership realized it too late. This time all the signs are indicating that BNP will join the election. This has created a hopeful atmosphere in the politics of the country. Awami League has been in power for the last two terms. In the election of 2008 they won a massive victory and in 2014 they got a walkover because of the non-participation of BNP in the election. BNP did their best to disrupt the election and afterwards tried to prove that the election was not valid. People did not listen to these allegations and Hasina government is running the country without any proper opposition in the Parliament. Now the scenario has changed. Awami League government is taking all steps to arrange a free and fair election in 2019 and BNP has also shown all signs that they will join the election. If that happens and the contestant parties accept the verdict of the people without any objection then Bangladesh will enter into a new era and we can hope for a better democratic future. So far everything is going well. The president has appointed a search. From those names they will propose the names of election commissioners to the President. The committee also discussed with the prominent members of the society about the political situation of the country and selection of the election commissioners. By the time this article will be published, the Search Committee might have sent their selection to the President and possibly the name of the Chief Election Commissioner will be known. If BNP does not discover any fault in the formation of the election commission then the people of the country can expect that an election will be held with the participation of all the major parties. The country can get an elected government and we will be able to bury the past mistakes and failures. So far Awami League has shown their sincerity and eagerness to hold a free and fair election. The President is going to constitute an election Commission after wide consultations with the political leaders and eminent persons of the society. The ruling party had no hand-picked men in the search committee and an academic like Professor Syed Manzurul Islam, a man respected for his neutral views was also included in the search committee. This search committee also had discussions with a large number of people with different views. There has also been discussion of views among many people that if everything goes well, the next General election will be free and fair and Bangladesh will be free from the allegation that democracy does not work here. Now the question is whether Awami League government can maintain their neutrality till the Election Day and BNP will not make any excuses to avoid the election with complaints- true and untrue. Democracy cannot walk on one leg. It needs both legs to be functional. Awami League and BNP, the two major parties of the country should agree to govern the country democratically. They should not indulge in any activities which hampers the growth of democracy. In the past, BNP tried their best to dislodge present government from power with violence and sometimes with dubious methods. It failed. If they want to remain in politics and come to power again they must choose peaceful method of democracy. On the other hand, Awami League should come out of their present self-complacency and should not expect that they will again come to power because BNP may follow their folly of the last election. Then the most unexpected may happen in the next election like American Presidential election. There is both a good and bad sign in our present politics. The good sign is that so far Awami League has shown their sincerity to hold a fair election and BNP also has shown their eagerness to join the election though with mild reservations. I hope they will overcome this reservation and will not repeat their habit of casting suspicion on every action of the government and try to gain the support of the people with better political programme than Awami League. The bad sign in the Awami League is that the utterances and behaviour of many Awami League leaders and MPs often show that they do not need any political initiative to earn peoples support again, but they will win the election simply with the popularity of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It seems they do not have to reform and make themselves acceptable to the people but the name Sheikh Hasina will be a talisman for their comfortable victory. They think they will not have to do anything to elect themselves but Hasina will do everything for them. This attitude is dangerous. The bad sign in BNP politics is that though they have come to realize their past folly of violent agitation or boycotting election and shown every sign that they intend to participate in the election, still there is a big gap between their intentions and utterances. Some top level BNP leaders are still spreading suspicion that their participation in the election remains a possibility not certainty. Still they are making some excuses and complaining against the ruling party and there is fear that they might repeat their past mistake. That may create uncertainty in Bangladesh again. Both the major parties should realize that that they are opponents not enemies of each other and they should come to an understanding to mutually work together to hold a free and fair election. To hold the countrys independence and democratic unity both have responsibilities. If they ignore it the country may face an uncertain period again, especially when the whole world is holding their breath on what will happen after the Trump victory in America. Bangladesh should prepare itself to face any eventuality with its democratic unity. London, 02 February, Friday 2017