The New Nation - Internet Edition

The heat in the political arena is increasing as the date set for the elections is drawing nearer. An increase in terrorist activities is also being noticed. There has also been demonstration of illegal weapons. Fears are spreading about the elections not only in political circles but also in the minds of the people. Not only these, there are suspicions as to whether the election would be held at all. Or even if the election is held would it be durable. The Adviser for Law has said that the tenure of the present government would end on 18 December. But it is not clear on what logic or basis he has set the government's tenure. The present caretaker government has been in power for about two years even though the constitutional provision of its tenure is for three months. The caretaker government has to shoulder the responsibility of handing over power to an elected government. It is unclear not only to us but also to many others as to how the Law Adviser has become quite sure that an elected government would take over by December 31.

The US ambassador to Bangladesh has recently commented that there is no hard and fast rule that elections would have to be conducted by taking all political parties on board. Importance is being given to this contention not because it has come from the US ambassador. This is common sense to know that when it is a condition that all parties have to take part in an election for it to be acceptable then any party will be able to frustrate the effort to hold election. Such an idea is good for not holding the election at all. We find it absurd when we hear that preparation for the coming election has to be such that all parties participate.

The statement of the ambassador should be understood from this point of view under the present scenario. Any adviser or the advisers of the caretaker government cannot ensure participation of all parties or a particular party in the election. Whether a party will take part in election or not is a matter to be decided by the party itself. There is no question of the government doing deals or secret compromises for this. A prerequisite for free and fair elections is that the polls are held free from secret arrangements.

The government, it is observed, steps into quicksand in its efforts to keep all concerned happy. As a result, the government advisers are making the very crisis it came to remove more difficult to deal with. The political parties are also confused. The major parties have come to believe, may be falsely, that the government can be forced to accept any and every demand that suits them. These parties think that there is pressure from foreign countries on our government to accept their demands no matter how unreasonable these are.

What is important to make it clear is that the responsibility of this government is to hold the election in a way that is meaningful for responsible politics and not to encourage anti-people politics of the past.

If the purpose of the election is not to be defeated no concession should be made to those corrupt ones who created a civil war situation in the country.

The government should without any hesitation show the strength and courage of holding sustainable elections for a durable democracy. Peace and respite should not only be restored in public life, their durability should also be ensured. Thus, the job of the present crisis-time caretaker government remains restricted not only to holding of elections. When difficult task is undertaken there is no easy way to escape.