Dr. M. S. Haq
It is not at present very clear, among other things, as to what extent, under what circumstance, when and how current activities of 18 party alliance under BNP and outcomes thereof could inter alia be instrumental in the realization of demand for free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in Bangladesh to the satisfaction of all concerned, as maximally practicable though. It is not at present very clear, as to what extent and how the country’s resilience could afford – costs of ongoing developments, in terms of say life, property, economic and other losses, that have been arising out of and in the course of political instabilities and ramifications in Bangladesh; maintenance of the peoples’ thrust predominantly via above activities of the alliance for the realization of demand until the demand is met; continuing inadequacies of ex-country support including those of the UN when it comes to efforts of the people towards free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in the country; to mention a few.
It is not at present very clear – as to what will be the realistic lead time for resolution of present day political disputes in Bangladesh – starting from the start of the upcoming government and ending with say free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in the country. At the moment, it appears to be more probable – the upcoming government would materialize a few of its post election priorities such as execution or otherwise as applicable of rest of war crimes convicts and restoration of law and order in the country, perhaps, prior to outcomes of upcoming elections in India, unless there are drastic changes in situations of all concerned during the intervening period. It is not at present very clear as to what extent and how India under PM Modi (God Willing) and his team will extend helping hands to people of Bangladesh in for example matters pertaining to free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in Bangladesh. It is also not at present very clear as to how best and quickest, 18 party alliance under BNP could utilize patience, perseverance, constructive pluralism, emotional intelligence, networks and connections, common sense though uncommon in most cases, foresightedness, tact, political acumen and entrepreneurial skills, to mention a few, in pursuits of say peaceful, free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in the country.
Taking into cognizance above and other developments and requirements, 18 party alliance under BNP should craft election related strategies focusing on several things. A few of them have been presented here – not in the order of priority and importance but they are relative to time, space and other variables.
I. Focus prima-facie on peaceful and innovative means – capable of attracting meaningful participation and satisfaction of all people of all of Bangladesh and others concerned, as maximally practicable though – for creating and sustaining necessary pressure on the government for settlement of political disputes pertaining to for example free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in the country on a sustainable basis. The alliance under BNP could do that by inter alia forming and operationalization of a national reconciliation committee consisting of qualified and competent people from all section of societies for the purpose. Further, advisers to for example chairperson of BNP should be more dynamic, more competitive, more realistic, more futuristic, more innovative and more result-oriented than that at present – capable of providing the right advice at the right time to the chairperson and others concerned – leading to solid and visible impacts, as maximally practicable though, on relevant areas.
II. Strengthen bottom-up transactions, fine tune top-down transactions and step up side-way transactions – as appropriate – within and beyond the alliance in pursuits of for instance: reconciliations at family, village, district, divisional, national and other levels via say each one convince one about things such as and as appropriate: national reconciliations hold futures of Bangladesh and people of Bangladesh in particular, and those of world at large, in general; the role of work, function, advantage and other things of peaceful, free, fair, credible and inclusive elections on a regular basis in for example building the blocks of sustainable democracy at local, global and other levels, especially under progressive regimes of global reintegration and interdependencies; harmful effects of wastage on wellbeing of the people and the country; and election promises of BNP and its alliances if elected in the future; to mention a few.
III. Transform each and every party worker of the alliance into an agent of changes for better. Transform each and every party office of the alliance into inter alia a training center imparting training to agents of changes for better. Establish and operationalize call centers for party-voter and voter-party transactions and for narrowing down party-voter and voter-party gaps in an effective, efficient and affordable manner. Intensify party-people networking via social media. Seek help and support from say the private sector including inter alia the grameen phone for say enhancing uses of ICT opportunities for above and other purposes.
IV. Establish and operationalize a powerful negotiator group for negotiations with all concerned including AL on matters relating to say elections on behalf of 18 party alliance under BNP. Strengthen coordination at say intra, inter and other party levels of the alliance for facilitating productive functioning of the group.
The last word: united purposefully we stand meaningfully. Do not attempt to divide the country along say religious lines at any given time for political and other gains – Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others concerned are all citizens of Bangladesh. Any of them cannot and should not be subjected to any type of discrimination at any time against the backdrop of say their individual, collective (or both) religious beliefs. Stop, from now onwards, uses of terms such as majority and minority in Bangladesh. Try maximally to upheld equality and equity for all in a sustainable manner.
Ensure the right and affordable justice for all at all time. Do not forget – outcomes of proper transactions between and among 14 party alliance under AL, 18 party alliance under BNP and others concerned through the future could usher a modern and competitive era of democracy in Bangladesh against the backdrop of changes for better such as national reconciliations. Successes in pertinent areas could serve as examples for others to follow those. It is expected 14 party alliance under AL will take necessary steps to remedy the election related situation at the soonest in the country. God bless (The author is, among other things, former Tutor and Roving Tutor of the University of The South Pacific – Samoa, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu)
