The British Minister visiting Bangladesh observed that his country wants next general election to be all inclusive. The intention is to see peaceful election jointly participated. The American Ambassador in Bangladesh earlier spoke about the concern of her government for the irregularities in City Corporation elections.
Such critical observations annoyed some overzealous in the government as interference in internal affairs of the country. This annoyance is understandable because they lack confidence to face people but cannot think of losing power. Even the Election Commission could not keep quiet. The situation is so desperate.
It is no good forgetting that ensuring free election is also an international human right. The right to free election is a public right protected under our Constitution as well as the United Nation’s Convention on Human Rights. So violent irregularities should be a matter of genuine concern of international community. Unless elected in a free election participated by people freely no government can claim democratic legitimacy.
On the other hand the government machinery has been overworking to propagate its amazing success. In the absence of free election the government is asking the people to vote in their support is grossly mischievous.
The government is surrounded by too many self-seekers too eager to mislead the government for their own safety and not for the good of the government. Free election is responsible and safe politics.
More than anything, free election is necessary to prove the government’s vaunted claim of amazing success in developing the country. But insisting that the “election has to be under our government” is not indicative of the government’s confidence about public support.
The parliamentary system has its own compelling method of organizing free election and the same should be acceptable to all democratic minded parties. The system of parliamentary election does not allow the elected government to continue in power during election.
Our view is that the government is being guided by some hard core bureaucrats. Their thinking is that they have the power of administrative machinery to use freely for election rigging and snatch victory. The City Corporation elections held recently exposed beyond doubt how fully in control the government machinery is. The whole system has been broken. They fear that free election will be a disaster for them and consequence will be terrible. Come what may free election is out of question.
Thus we have election as the prisoner in the hands of the government and the government as the prisoner in the hands of self-seekers.
Our anxiety is to see the country does not go deep into the mire of lawlessness and chaos.
Whether any party will be able to oust the government’s through violent movement should not be the challenge. The question is: Why the people will have to shed blood and suffer anarchy again for exercising their voting right freely as guaranteed under our own Constitution. Why constitutional politics will not work when the Constitution still subsists. No constitutional government can encourage violent means in politics. The voting right they have earned as a free country.
