Politics will never be the same again in Bangladesh. Party leaders had played their game under the name of "democracy" very badly during the last 16 years. No tolerance for each other, lack of mutual respect, unaccountability to people, violation of their election manifestoes, and their authoritarianism, were the hallmarks of their rule since 1991. They had thought that the country and its wealth was their "family property." The necessity and relevance of morality in their actions were put in the dustbin.

People knew that corruption was rampant in the country and that, at the fag end of AL rule, Bangladesh was on top of the list of corrupt countries. The then finance minister tried to argue against Transparency International's assessment, but to no avail.

The BNP kept up the tradition in successive years, as if to show that AL's corruption was "peanuts." And they actually did.

The revelations by former ministers, MPs and political leaders, of the extent of corruption and looting of national wealth are staggering and beyond belief. What would they do with crores of takas?

When greed becomes obsession, money loses its relevance. Possession of crores of takas is not a means any more, but becomes the end and gives satisfaction to them, not for using but for mere possession. One cannot ride in two cars at the same time, and one cannot sleep at night in two expensive houses at the same time, then the question is why do they accumulate/steal/loot so much money?

Some psychologists say that such looting of national wealth is a perversion. Ordinary people ask: are they sick? Money is a basic need, but when accumulation of money is itself the purpose, does it not speak of a sick mind?

On the other hand, there is a rewarding picture of Bangladesh. The country can be proud of the activities of Brac and Grameen Bank, because they have shown others how to help poor people in their day-to-day struggle for survival. Our business people have boosted exports by 15% percent every year, and our overseas labourers have sent nearly Tk 5 billion back home last year.

Democracy does require a whole complex of state institutions. But elected governments in the past did not strengthen them, they, instead, weakened them and moulded them according to their party affiliations. This is a great tragedy that, as the chief justice reportedly said sometime ago, people would have to suffer for another 25 years.

It seems that there are four forces working in the political processes in the country:

• The CTG's stated goal of holding free and credible election after creating a level playing field for all parties.
• The civil society's proposals on how to make politics healthy and accountable.
• The initiative for reforms of political parties themselves.
• The people's hopes and their demands.

How these forces play out in the end is anybody's guess, but it is certain that a new broom is being used by all these forces to cleanse the rot.

Ordinary people are hopeful that, at the end of the day, something good will come out for them, like a liberal democracy where the elected representatives would exercise their decision-making powers according to the rule of law. Liberal democracy is also characterised by tolerance and pluralism, in which differing social and political views are tolerated.

Amartya Sen measures a country's wealth by what its citizens are capable of being and doing. This is called "capability theory." The question to ask is: what are people actually able to do, and to be? The theory avoids traditional pitfalls because it insists that quality of life must take into factors such as access to education, quality of personal relationships, the opportunities available to the people, and political and economic freedom.

Against the backdrop of the grim stories of corruption and looting, the public want the constitutionally constituted CTG to clean the decks and bring in a new Bangladesh. The men and women deserve it because they are hardworking, decent, innovative and imaginative.

Bangladesh people want to ensure that, in the new political climate, political parties do take notice of the essence of the "capability theory" of development. Ordinary people do not wish to see the return of the tyranny and oppression of political parties. They wish that the CTG succeeds in attaining its goal, and are pleased to see that the army is helping and assisting the CTG in creating a new environment in politics in the country.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva