On the upcoming national parliamentary election, Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said, “Prepare the stage, do not test the patience of the audience.”
Referring to the growing dominance of pessimists about whether the election will be held in February, he noted, “The rule of politics is to do as much as is possible. Beyond that, aspirations may remain. We need this sense of realism. If the constitution is tampered with too much, many deeper constitutional issues may surface.”
Debapriya further warned that if the matter of reforms is not properly resolved, there will be consequences for four key areas of the economy: commodity prices, the risk of labour unrest, employment, and investment.
Sharing his experience from a visit to Khulna, Debapriya said, people are speaking of uncertainty about the election. At the same time, they are asking whether the election will be acceptable and credible. If the election is not properly conducted, the political crisis will not end.
Dhaka University sociology professor Samina Luthfa expressed concern that the country’s situation could become more “confrontational” ahead of the election because of the absence of a culture of compromise among political parties. She cautioned that in such a situation, citizens themselves would be the first victims.
Highlighting the poor performance of the interim government in maintaining law and order and public security, Samina said, at such a critical time, people are supposed to have confidence in the government to hold a fair and violence-free election. At this moment, that confidence is absent.
Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Monir Haider added, the consensus we need is not just about the July National Charter. It has to be part of a much larger scenario.