The Round Table held on February 24, 2018 against a backdrop of receding expectations of a free and fair election for the 11th National Assembly also underlined the importance and indispensability for a participatory election to save the country from becoming a one-party fascist state.

The Round Table held on February 24, 2018 against a backdrop of receding expectations of a free and fair election for the 11th National Assembly also underlined the importance and indispensability for a participatory election to save the country from becoming a one-party fascist state.

Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, President, TDF, chaired the RT. Ambassador M. Serajul Islam, member, TDF, presented the keynote paper prepared by the TDF.

As with previous RTs, participants in the RT held on Feb. 24th was a cross section of the stakeholders who believe that without a free and fair election the Spirit of 1971 would be buried. Conversely, a free, fair and participatory election would reinvigorate the process of social, political and economic development that the country has achieved since democracy was restored in 1991 by ending the military dictatorship of President HM Ershad.

The RT produced vibrant discussions amongst the participants. There was consensus on a number of key issues related to the forthcoming election: obstacles to making the next election participatory, free and fair and the dangers for the country if the elections follow the trend set by the controversial 2014 election; complicated by among other issues, the presence of a million Rohingya refugees in the country without any signs of repatriation to their country anytime soon. 

The RT reached consensus about some of the major issues and a sense of direction on a number of other issues that many of the participants considered were critical and important in holding a participatory, free and fair national election upon which rests the future of democracy in the country. These included the following:

1. There is still almost a total absence of a level playing field in politics with elections less than a year from now. While the ruling party is campaigning in full swing with expenditure being borne by the government exchequer, the leader of other major political party, BNP, has been confined and BNP leaders and supporters are being routinely denied the democratic space necessary for electioneering campaign. Far from being given any opportunity to avail their right to campaign or any democratic space at all, BNP leaders, party workers and supporters are being denied to engage in minimum political activities and made to run from pillar to post, being beaten on the streets and arrested throughout the length and breadth of the country. This situation severely dampens expectations for free, fair and participatory elections.

2. The activities of the EC so far provide no reason for optimism either. The Commission has not taken any heed of the need for acting upon the consultations with the political stakeholders and civil society it had engaged in the recent past. Two vital aspects related to holding a free and fair election were identified namely, first, the dissolution of the 10th National Assembly before the election to the 11th National Assembly; and second, the deployment of the armed forces during the election. In its discussions with the stakeholders, all except the ruling party had supported both as the most important preconditions for holding a free and fair national election.

3. The dissolution of the 10th Parliament was discussed as the key element for a level playing field for holding a free and fair election. The participants felt strongly that where a large number of candidates of the ruling party and its allies would be enjoying all the privileges as members of the 10th parliament and be able to influence their respective candidatures with the assistance of the police, local administration and the EC itself, those opposed to the ruling party and its allies would find themselves fighting not just their opposing candidates but also the local administration; the police and the Election Commission.

4. The participants were also of the view that sustainable socio-economic development could only be achieved through the democratic process, not in denial of it. They referred to Ayub's so-called Decade of Development where the argument was made that for the sake of economic development democracy should be made to take the back seat and how the people had trashed it to strengthen the movement for Bangladesh.

5. The participants expressed bewilderment that the party that had used the movement against Ayub's Decade of Development to strengthen the movement for Bangladesh is now bringing back the ghost of Ayub Khan to argue what the military dictator had argued; that democracy is dispensable for the sake of development and using that argument to deny the people their right to vote and establish one-party dictatorship in the country. Without democracy rule of law and good governance cannot be ensured and the development achieved so far will be unsustainable and breed injustice.

6. The participants focused on the lack of democratic practice in the mainstream political parties. They also were unanimous in expressing the view that when in power, they bring the constitution to defend their own interests and those that do not serve the interests of the people. For instance, in February 1996 and January 2014, the respective mainstream parties had used the Constitution to achieve their interests and going against the interests of the people.

7. The participants articulated a very strong sentiment that the Constitution is there to reflect and uphold the interests of the people and not to become an impediment. They exposed the fact that the ruling party of the country has in the past amended the Constitution to put their interest ahead of those of the people by using their parliamentary majority and cited the 15th Amendment as a major instance.

8. The participants thus argued that the ruling party's contention that the next election must be held under party government because the Constitution says so under the 15th Amendment that it brought for its interests, not the people's does not stand to scrutiny or reason. The participants also stated further that outside the ruling party, there is a consensus among the people that election under party government cannot be free, fair or participatory.

9. The participants also expressed the view that meanwhile; the ruling party has politicized the administration and the law enforcing agencies to ensure its return to power without any election in the real sense. The participants were unanimous that this issue of politicization must be addressed for making a level ground for the next general election by amending the Constitution if necessary so that the election time government is not a government by the party in power under the outgoing Prime Minister.

10. The role of India in the forthcoming election given its blatant interference in the last election was also discussed. Some of the participants felt that India is the single most important obstacle to holding a free and fair election in Bangladesh. The recent statement of the Indian army chief that Pakistan was using Bangladesh territory to push Muslims into the northeast for a proxy war with China's assistance is an example of India's interfering attitude in the domestic affairs of Bangladesh for its advantage.

11. The issue of the Rohingyas was discussed by some of the participants as a dark cloud that could burst upon Bangladesh's politics with disastrous consequences. A non-participatory election resulting in imposing upon the country a fascist dictatorship could cause dangerous conflicts in the country's politics where the so-called Islamic terrorists now in disarray in their erstwhile safe havens in Iraq could be drawn towards the Rohingyas like pins to the magnet.

12. Some of the participants explained that given the fact that the BNP and its allies have now opted for a free and fair election and have decided to go forward to achieve a participatory, free and fair election peacefully, its supporters would now be significantly more than that of the ruling party. Many that are neither the supporters of the AL or the BNP are likely to back the BNP for the simple reason that they believe establishing or attempting to establish a one-party rule in the country would be the anti-theses of the Spirit of 1971.

13. The participants agreed that the need for holding free and fair election is now of paramount importance to the future of Bangladesh. With such a huge number now likely to join the opposition against any attempts of the ruling party to hold a non-participatory election as it seems inclined to, there are dark and threatening clouds gathering in the political horizon of the country.

14. In the context of all of the above, the RT participants felt very strongly that the civil society must play a vital role in the forthcoming national election by spreading the message that a free and fair election to elect the 11th national assembly of Bangladesh is not an AL or BNP issue but one of every Bangladeshi. It must be the patriotic duty of all citizens of Bangladesh to come together and force the Election Commission and the ruling party to give them their right to elect the next parliament and the next government through a free and fair election.

The participants agreed that The Dhaka Forum's fourth RT was held at a very critical moment in the history of the country where it successfully articulated the message that if the country does not come back to the path for which millions had laid down their lives in 1971, namely to establish a government chosen by the people freely and fairly, the country could go over the edge for a one-party system that would be established without a participatory national election would jeopardize the country’s future.

TDF’s fourth RT on national election and democracy had a simple message - the voters would like to be assured that they would be able to go to their respective voting centre and see that there are candidates of both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and that no one would come between them and their right to vote. That would be the litmus test of a participatory, free and fair national election to elect the members of the 11th National Assembly without which a tsunami-like political catastrophe could befall Bangladesh.

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Background paper for The Dhaka Forum (TDF) Round Table on "Participatory Election and Democracy in Bangladesh" to be held at the National Press Club on February 24th 2018 at 10 am

This is TDF's fourth Seminar on the controversial 5th January 2014 election and the forthcoming national election. We had expressed grave concerns when the January 2014 election was held. We had stated unequivocally in our first seminar jointly organized with The Daily Star immediately after the 2014 election that with it, the spirit of 1971 had been banished from national politics because it had taken away from us our most fundamental political and democratic right, namely the right to vote and elect our government freely and fairly. And we had also expressed concern in that seminar that the 2014 sham election would pave the way for one-party dictatorship in the country, a phenomenon we in Bangladesh had dispensed with in the not so recent past.

In the next three seminars held in December 2016, March 2017 and April 2017, we had advanced the proposition that the country must come together to save Bangladesh from becoming a one-party dictatorship and the antithesis of 1971 through the election for the 11th parliament. We have also stated categorically in these seminars that whether we as a nation can save Bangladesh would depend upon our ability to come together to create pressure upon the ruling party and the election commission to allow the citizens of the country to exercise their right to elect the next parliament and the next government freely and fairly. This paper has set out the problems to hold the next election freely and fairly and the possible ways to restore democracy in Bangladesh. We have no hesitation in stating that another sham election like the one in 2014 would threaten the very existence of Bangladesh as a sovereign, independent, democratic entity.  

1. The country is in its final stretch towards the election for the 11th National Assembly which is expected to be held between the end of October this year and end of January 2019 according to the 15th Amendment. And the next elections would be held with the 10th Parliament and its members in office that is an extraordinary, unprecedented and unbelievable violation of election in a parliamentary system.

2. With elections this close, there are widespread apprehensions in the public mind whether they would be able to vote freely and regain their inalienable right to vote that was taken away from them through the January 2014 election in which less than 10% were able to vote and in which in 153 seats of the 300-member Assembly there was no need of election or a single vote cast.

3. There are a few positive factors to believe that the country would not have another election like January 2014. First, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) whose decision to boycott the last election was the reason why it ended with the people losing their right to vote, has stated its firm intention to participate. Second, the other factors that combined to help the Awami league return to office with a non-participatory election such as the Shahabag movement; the trials of the war criminals; the Hefazat rising, are history. Finally, New Delhi's heavy hand in the past election appears less likely now as it seems that it wants a participatory election in Bangladesh for its own interests. 

4. The Election Commission (EC) has in the meantime held discussions with the political parties and the other stakeholders, including the civil society. These parties and stakeholders, except the ruling party and a few of its minor allies, have unequivocally stated that without a constitutional amendment of the 15th Amendment, the elections would neither be free or fair.

5. With the BNP's determination to participate, the next election would be participatory and the ruling party would not have a walk-over. However, the BNP has also categorically stated it would not go for election under the 15th Amendment which the ruling party has dismissed stating that the constitutional provision as under the 15th Amendment cannot be violated and the next election must be held under the incumbent Prime Minister. Whether either of the two major political parties will compromise on this issue is the main source of anxiety for the nation.

6. In February 1996, the Awami League (AL) faced a similar predicament where under the 1972 Constitution the incumbent Prime Minister (Begum Khaleda Zia) was constitutionally supposed to head the election time government, the AL with its allies, the Jatiya Party and the Jamat, demanded amendment of the Constitution arguing election under the incumbent Prime Minister/party cannot be free or fair. The BNP amended the Constitution and held the election under the Caretaker Government (CTG) system (13th Amendment) and lost. Thereafter two successive elections were held under the CTG system that was acceptable to the voting population of Bangladesh.

7. The prospects of free and fair election under the 15th Amendment with enhanced powers for the Prime Minister and with the existing parliament in place are formidable obstacles for holding a free and fair election. The demand for an amendment of the 15th amendment that has come from all the stakeholders including the civil society, except the ruling party, is, therefore, the most important issue upon which will depend whether the next election would be free and fair. 

8.The 15th amendment has made the prospects of a free and fair election almost impossible because, first, the bureaucracy, the police and the other law enforcing agencies have been politicized which was not the case when the AL/Jamat/Jatiya Party had demanded the CTG system in 1996, and second, the media has been placed under many restrictions which have taken away its ability to act independently that would allow it to expose the politicized bureaucracy and law enforcing agencies from working for the ruling party and its candidates. Moreover with the ruling party's MPs remaining as MPs would ensure that every space would be taken away from the opposition candidates.

9. Even the amendment of the 15th amendment would not be enough for the next election to be free and fair because, with 10 years of politicization, these institutions have been severely damaged for assisting in holding a free and fair election. Therefore another demand that came from discussions of the Election Commission with the stakeholders, namely the deployment of the armed forces during the election should be assured before the next national election is held.

10. The issue of election observers, domestic and international would be crucial for the next general election to be free and fair. The participation of observers from for instance SAARC, the Commonwealth, the European Union and the United Nations would be extremely important in this context. Local national observers should also participate in large numbers and the EC must assure that no impediment is created to their work during the election.

11. The Election Commission has shown promise with the Rangpur Mayoral election. Nevertheless, the opposition parties and the general public are not yet fully convinced that it would be able to stand against the wishes of the election time government if the election was to be held under the 15th amendment. That apprehension emanates from the fact that the selection process of the EC was not transparent and that the CEC has well-known sympathies for the ruling party. Even if the election was to be held under a non-party government, the EC's actions would need to be scrutinized to deliver a free and fair election. The sudden postponement of the Dhaka city north mayoral election highlights the predicament of the concentration of authority in the office of the prime minister in determining the election schedule of even a local body. 

12. The civil society has a major role to play to hold a free and fair election. Another non-participatory election would place the people of Bangladesh in direct conflict with the spirit of 1971. The people who had sacrificed lives in millions cannot be expected to remain silent if their democratic right is again taken away. Finally, another non-participatory election or one where the ruling party would come to power without the people being able to exercise their right to vote would speed up the slide to Fascism and further strangle democracy while encouraging extremism and other violent groups that are too dangerous to contemplate.

When we had decided to hold this roundtable, we were aware that the Dhaka's critical mayoral election would be held on the 26th of February. That was postponed. The reasons for postponing given by the election commission at the behest of the government were not convincing. In fact, it underlined that the ruling party was concerned about its outcome and thus had postponed it because it was not certain that it would be able to influence the outcome in its favour. Is this indicative of things to come? If the ruling party, so close to the national election, appeared concerned about the outcome in one local body election that was not a national one, albeit an important one, and had thus postponed it with the likelihood that it may not be held before the national election, how would the election time government be then able   to interfere, influence and dictate the election commission to ensure the ruling party’s victory in a parliamentary election involving 300 seats?

That should give the civil society encouragement to impress upon the ruling party and the election commission that the only way to save the country from an impending political tsunami would be not to derail the next general election and hold it in a manner that every Bangladeshi voter hopes would truly reflect their aspirations.