Bangladesh Political Scenario

Bangladesh has been having democratic problems after the fall of Husain Mohammad Ershad in 1990. Since then nepotism, corruption and an attitude of winner-takes-all is prevailing. Party politics in Bangladesh was reduced to the politics of power, revenge and plunder; and the ballot box was used only as a means to sub serve those ends. Politicians were both incompetent and venal, and the conduct of the general elections by an election commission, which lacked both authority and impartiality, fell below acceptable standards. The military-backed interim government came into office in January 2007 after months of controversy, conflict and bloodshed between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and their respective allies. It promptly cancelled the elections scheduled for last January 22. The treatment of politicians and senior bureaucrats was seen not as repression but retribution.

The two former prime ministers, implacable enemies, have perpetuated the dynastic and dictatorial style of politics in Bangladesh, stifled internal democracy in their parties, and have dealt vindictively with any threats to their position from colleagues from the second rank. It is therefore self-evident that no enduring political reform would ever be possible without the removal of the two demagogues from political activity. This man oeuvre by the interim authorities came unstuck when Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who was on holiday in the United States of America, returned to her country despite attempts by the regime to block her reentry. This was the first set-back to the purification plans of the interim administration. The second was when the Nobel Prize laureate and micro-credit pioneer, Mohammad Yunus, announced that he had abandoned plans to form his own political party, Nagarik Shakti, as an alternative to the two main established ones owing to the lack of support. The government feared that the main political parties might be emboldened to challenge the authority of the emergency, and decided to contain the situation through the rigorous pursuit of Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wajed through the court.

In July, Hasina Wajed was arrested on charges of extortion, to which was added a charge of corruption in September. She is also accused of being involved in the murder of four political rivals. Khaleda Zia was ordered to appear in court over tax-evasion allegations, and was arrested in September on charges of corruption and abuse of power. The two women join a list of some 170 politicians, civil servants and businessmen who have been detained on various counts.

The other traditional agent of change is the army. Is it looking for a longer-term, formal role in the future? The army chief, Moin Ahmed, is supposed to have said, “Bangladesh will have to construct its own brand of democracy. This needs rethinking so that we can re-invent a system of governance with new leadership at all levels.” The interim regime in Dhaka has shown signs of paying close attention to India’s concerns, especially terrorism and transit, though there is yet to be concrete action.