In Bangladesh, it is simply impossible to transfer power under the political government - whether it is BAL or BNP. We need to continue with the caretaker system for long. BAL failed the test in the Upazilla election under the current EC.
--- On Tue, 8/25/09, Sajjad Hossain <shossain456@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Sajjad Hossain <shossain456@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] AL move to end caretaker system gains momentum
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 9:17 PM
The timing of writing a piece in favour of abolishing the Caretaker System by Afsan Chowdhury is particularly interesting. He is nothing but the "hired Bhudhijibi" of the Awami Camp. He just re-iterated his Masters voice. Now, 'democracy is for the fully grown adults." Insteresting! Since 1996 to 2007, according to Ms Majid our politicians were children. As soon as with the help of pro-Awami Election Commission, when Awami League ascended to the Throne, now they have become adult including 59 years Sheikh Hasina and 64 years Begum Zia. I did not know that in Bangladesh someone needs to wait that long to be an adult. Free and fair election. Yes, can be organized but not by the Election Commission under Dr Huda which scored a world record of 87% vote casting in a national election; in many cases with 110% vote casting.
SH Toronto
From: Farida Majid <farida_majid@ hotmail.com>
To: Alochona Alochona <alochona@yahoogroup s.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:50:47 PM
Subject: RE: [ALOCHONA] AL move to end caretaker system gains momentum
The childish reasoning of this person is to be noted with inyerest. Children need caretaking, since they know not how to act responsibly. Democracy is for fully grown adults. . . . . Simply put, Bangladeshi parties don't have the political maturity, intent or will to have free and fair elections when in power. The Election Commission can do a much better job and by strengthening the commission much can be improved and even moved towards a system where the caretaker government will not be required. ..... Afsan Chowdhury got it right. farida majid
To: alochona@yahoogroup s.com From: shossain456@ yahoo.com Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:04:28 -0700 Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] AL move to end caretaker system gains momentum If next time BNP comes to power due to touch of some miracle, you would see Awami League on the street again to re-introduce the Caretaker Government System. Same "Budhijibis" will turn their arguments 180 degrees around.
SH
Toronto
From: Ezajur Rahman <ezajur.rahman@ q8.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroup s.com
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 5:43:42 AM
Subject: [ALOCHONA] AL move to end caretaker system gains momentum
AL move to end caretaker system gains momentum
The system of non-party supervision of elections is a product of our political parties and their immaturity and absolute inability to come to power through fair and public participatory methods. The situation could be worth changing if the situation had improved but, remarkable as it may seem, our political parties have remained as unable to be part of a democratic process as they were two decades back
in 1990, writes Afsan Chowdhury Courtesy New Age 24/8/09
AWAMI League leaders of the middle variety as well as a few of the top ones – or should we say ex-top ones – have recently started to deride the caretaker government system which has been in place for almost two decades. It is stated to have been an experiment that has lived out its purpose and time, and is ready to be discarded.
The Awami League has, of course, said that it is not a decision and that the issue should be debated and even the Election Commission should be part of the debate but the intentions are clear – it does not want the caretaker government system anymore.
The caretaker government system was introduced as an interim measure in 1990 after the fall of Ershad following the mass movement. The movement had been on for nearly a decade against the somewhat feeble regime of Ershad because the two contenting parties – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League – were so antagonistic to each other that they never even managed to get together to fight their common enemy jointly, allowing Ershad to go on for so long.
Once Ershad had fallen, there was no succession and so the concept of 'neutral caretaker government' under Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, then the chief justice of the Supreme Court, took over, a concept born out of necessity. It was supposed to be an interim, short-term arrangement in view of the complete lack of trust of the political parties in each other at that time. The arrangement worked the first time but trust in each other never increased. The arrangement was incorporated into the constitution in 1996.
The arrangement was never popular but everyone accepted it because it was convenient for the two warring parties during an election. The neutral tag of the caretaker government soon disappeared as the interim members of the government were largely split between representatives of both the parties but it swayed and rolled on till in 2006-7 when it faced its worst crisis when the BNP abused the mechanism to an absurd level. Its very transparent manipulation attempt exposed the fact that even this system could itself cause a crisis. That such action by politicians can hurt the system so badly that political options can disappear from the table leaving only violence behind. The inevitable result was the military-backed civilian takeover and the rest is well known. The Awami League had even then expressed unhappiness and now is doing so again. Why the sudden acceleration of dislike of the system which has brought them to power through the 2008 elections is not well understood. Meanwhile, the BNP has already expressed opposition to the idea as expected.
The system of non-party supervision of elections is a unique system in the world and product of our political parties and their immaturity and absolute inability to come to power through fair and public participatory methods. The situation could be worth changing if the situation had improved but, remarkable as it may seem, our political parties have remained as unable to be part of a democratic process as they were two decades back in 1990. The reason which had led to the birth of the neutral caretaker government system remains as valid as it was then. So what has changed since then that the Awami League is keen to replace it with a party-in-power- based election is not understood?
Speculation one – the Awami League wants to do a BNP in future, that is just as the BNP distorted the system to try to stay on in power in 2006 by manipulating the mechanism. It couldn't face the idea of handing over power after only a term and it was very unsure that it could win on a popular ticket. It was a desperate move that backfired on them.
The Awami League till now has been having a very bad time since elections and its performance is not winning vote points. Many of the problems it faces have grown over the years under both party regimes and by ignoring such issue they have now become huge and perhaps unmanageable. If the Awami League can't handle them, unpopularity is inevitable and that may translate into an electoral disaster the next time. The party may not want to risk a free and fair election under the present system. Hence, it wants to do away with it and reduce risk unlike the BNP which wanted to keep the system but manipulate it.
Speculation two – the Awami League believes that the time is right for making a move that will further push the BNP into a corner. The BNP doesn't resemble a winner's party anymore and the tag of corruption and support to terrorist elements is a major burden for the BNP. It does have a degree of dependence on these elements for its political clout but, as the regional concern for extremist violence grows, the Awami League may find itself as a facilitator of clamping down on such forces. The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP's main ally, is basically a Pakistan-based party of its ancestors, and its brothers in Pakistan aren't doing too well as all extremists get lumped together there as 'enemies' as the fight against the Taliban expands. These parties while varying in their extremism are all ideologically anti-Indian and if that is an ideology, then it will soon become involved in regional politics, if not terrorism. Should the security scenario become more dangerous, there may be a nod to the Awami League to at act tough against such elements and both the BNP and Jamaat may be at the receiving end of the AL stick with regional and global support behind it. So if the Awami League emerges as the only goods on the political shelf the neutral caretaker government system will lose relevance.
Speculation three – the Awami League knows that the BNP is weakened and after the war crimes trials which will be held most probably even if in a diminished manner, both the BNP and Jamaat will be on the back foot and the Awami League will be able to push through a series of changes suiting its politics. If the BNP can be shown to have consorted too closely with Jamaat, which is certain to be linked with war crimes, if not tried as such, the Awami League will hope to cut down the level of street opposition and push its new plan. The time may be right according to them.
These may well be what the Awami League is thinking and it doesn't matter if they are speculation or not but the fact of the matter is, the Awami League is on the move to cut down a system which, given our political performance, should stay much longer. The people of Bangladesh have shown that they have political maturity but the BNP's action during its last regime and the Awami League's action since coming to power in its last incarnation can hardly make anyone think that Bangladesh has reached a state of political stability under which fair elections will be or can be held.
Of course there are two factors that can make or unmake the argument. One is the function of the Election Commission and the other is the role of the army.
It can be argued that the caretaker government is not necessary as the Election Commission is strengthened enough. This is a key question but there have been doubts about the level of power the commission enjoys and if those powers actually allow it to supervise the entire electoral process and the conducting of related business. The tirade of the BNP politician Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury against the commission after it declared him guilty of misinforming it about his educational qualifications the people and his refusal to resign followed by threats are indicators that the commission is still far short of the powers that would give it the kind of clout needed to ensure a free and fair election even when a party is in power.
Apart from that, given the history of our politics, there is little evidence that the government will make the Election Commission so strong and independent that it can call the shots in an election no matter who rules the roost. Since our political parties have, in fact, systematically weakened the judiciary and the political institutions, it would take an unrealistic optimist to think that our parties will make any institution stronger than the party in power. In that case, we would not need the caretaker government but right now the Election Commission is nowhere near empowered to make a difference that will see an unpopular government thrown out by the voters even if in power.
Right now the most organised and strengthened institution in the country is the army and it is their tilt to a proper election managed by the Election Commission saw the results that we have now. It's no secret that the ex-army chief General Moeen's actions in this regard hurt the BNP which is why the plethora of cases and condemnations of this man by BNP leaders. However, still now, it's the military guarantee that ensures civilian rule. That will be so in the future unless some major incident occurs or any new factor is introduced. Is the Awami League hoping that the military will also support this move to end caretaker government thinking that the army has gone pro-Awami League?
The army wears olive uniforms and not the black coat of the Awami League and its support to the Awami League was strategic given in the best interest of self-preservation. If the AL decision to end the caretaker government system makes it unpopular, a generator of instability and again returns the kind of situation which forced the army to act as protector of the state and the army itself, the Awami League may find a friend missing, the friend that matters.
The decision to try to shift away from an established system that has provided and can provide stability, if both parties decide to respect it, is a matter of great concern. It seems that the Awami League has decided to do so and is now making dry runs but there is no evidence to suggest that it can be carried off because the BNP will certainly oppose it on the streets and the situation is not so strong for the Awami League that it can override them.
Simply put, Bangladeshi parties don't have the political maturity, intent or will to have free and fair elections when in power. The Election Commission can do a much better job and by strengthening the commission much can be improved and even moved towards a system where the caretaker government will not be required. But, to decide that, a system which is designed to protect the people from the political parties and their antagonism shouldn't be done away with simply because it looks a good time to act in a way that will ensure the favourite fantasy of Bangladeshi parties – endless rule.
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