As a political scientist, I dream of seeing in Bangladesh a state machinery built on the rule of law, a systematic setup for government change, and independent institutions.
In my dream, the independent institutions bring accountability to the political system on the way to institutionalising democracy.
Looking at Bangladesh, we returned to democracy once through a mass uprising in the 1990s. Then we got two fairly good governments—one led by Awami League and one by BNP. But, after that, when each party started their second term, democratic ideals began to erode. We have seen the latest experience under the rule of Awami League for nearly 16 years.
The rule of law, the systematic change of power, and the Awami League and the BNP as political parties were not very different after a certain stage. Both of them basically walked through a parliamentary democracy in order to advance the political system within the capitalist economic structure. In fact, there was a difference created between the two parties—who is for independence and who is against.
This difference has been created and the society has been divided. This has been done for a long time. When the Awami League came to power in 1996 after the change of government in 1975, there was at least some form of democracy in the next five years.
Many in the cabinet of that government were people who had formed student unions or similar organisations. Looking at the subsequent terms, we see that a larger number from the business class came to power. Furthermore, the party didn’t want to transfer power through free and fair elections.
We have seen the consequences of staying in power by bypassing credible elections for 16 years. Every democratic institution has been completely destroyed. This destruction has happened in several ways.
Firstly, there is no separation of powers, the Prime Minister is the head of the party, and she/he is also the head of the parliament. Through this, we have gradually moved towards one-man rule. A dynasty was established finally.
Since there were no elections, this dynasty did not have to go through accountability. The government has consistently become authoritarian.
Parliament has become a completely useless institution. We have not seen any role of the Human Rights Commission. The commission has been operating under the guidance of the premier while the anti-graft body ACC has turned into a subordinate of her dynasty.
Good politics is the prerequisite for a good economy. Instead, we have received some kind of corrupt decision in every field. As mentioned in the recent white paper, it is no longer crony capitalism; it has become a system of thieves. Banks have been broken up after being in power for a long time.
Zahid Hossain, former chief economist of the World Bank, has showed that $16 billion has been laundered from our banks every year for 16 years.
Some people have been given the opportunity to make money in the energy sector. What was supposed to be a temporary arrangement has been made permanent. In this, many people have become big money makers and big businessmen overnight.
We have moved towards such a system that it will be difficult to change the mindset of people and bring them back to democracy or towards the basic principles of democracy. People want democracy, but the culture of practicing the basic principles of democracy has been destroyed. What has happened is sad for us.
But we never deserve military rule under any circumstances. We want a change of power between the parties. The political system to evolve as it goes along. The decline we have seen in all areas of economy, politics, society is due not only to staying in power for 16 years without holding elections. Awami League itself has destroyed its existence by engaging in autocratic politics.
This movement for the rule of law, the downfall of the Awami League in a systematic way is not just about students. Students have come out, everyone has joined them. This movement does not want the rule of one person.
People do not want disappearances, murders, extrajudicial killings. That is why people have come out on the road risking their lives. We have sacrificed so many lives to bring back democracy. You have to understand that this interim government is not something planned in advance. As a result, they do not know how much to do.
None of them have prepared in advance. Our demand is democracy, no one should be so dictatorial and elections should be held on time. There is a lot of work to meet these demands.
We believe that the interim government should continue to work on fundamental reforms. After that, the political party will come to power; many reforms will not be in its interest. Still, if we want to make the state system permanent with completely democratic values, some reforms will have to be made.
Reforms will not happen out of thin air. Problems will have to be found out through deep study. The government has formed several commissions for reforms. The most important of these is the Constitution Reform Commission.
The contradiction that has been created is dangerous on one hand. So many lives have been lost; we have to go for reforms. Otherwise, there will be no benefit. But there is no consensus on which of the two to go.
Our academics have also helped create this disagreement in many cases. The debate should have been held by thinking about how long the interim government can last and how much it can do. The debate is a bit muddled now.
We have seen how women have participated in this movement. Women have now come forward. We no longer want 50 seats reserved for women in parliament. Women now need to participate directly in elections. For this, according to the UN rules, each party should be obliged to nominate women representatives in 33 percent of the seats.
We have seen that women members of parliament with 50 reserved seats, like a golden necklace, speak for the party they come from; they do not have independent and independent opinions. 50 years of independence have passed, now women are not helpless; women are strong.
The way the judicial power has been destroyed, we must take it back to its previous place. Article 70 of the Constitution needs to be changed. A lot can be achieved by reforming the Election Commission. I think those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of reforming the Election Commission are very wise in this regard.
The other commissions that have been formed are also very important. Not only businessmen, but also the media must take responsibility for the fact that our country went under the rule of one person. We have not got any free and independent media.
We have to make a transition to democracy. I am optimistic that this transition will happen. My hope for the future is that women will directly participate in elections, fight, get elected and sit in parliament with dignity.
We will preserve the experiences of disappearances, murders, and extrajudicial killings that we have gone through in a museum, so that no more extrajudicial killings can happen in the future. Everyone will move forward freely with their own opinions. There will be no interference from anyone.
The writer is chairperson of political science department at Dhaka University.
