‘Country to see a staged election’
Speakers fear it will exacerbate political, economic crises
The country is likely to see a "staged election" on January 7 which may deepen the existing political and economic crises, speakers said at a webinar yesterday.
As the upcoming national election will take place amid boycott from BNP, there is less chance that it will be contested, they said.
Forum for Bangladesh Studies, a platform of academics, analysts, and practitioners studying Bangladesh, organised the webinar on "Staged Election, Judiciary and Rule of Law".
The way the next parliamentary election is going to take place will only augment the ongoing political and economic crises and its impact could be visible within a year.
Addressing the webinar, eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said the way the next parliamentary election is going to take place will only augment the ongoing political and economic crises and its impact could be visible within a year.
The country's institutions and systems are falling apart and the outcome of the upcoming polls could only exacerbate instability, he added.
"I hope my concerns will not be true," he said, adding that those who are in power may not have to face the situation but common people could suffer greatly.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh President and Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Manzil Murshid said Bangladesh's recent election history suggests there have been two main contesting political parties in the country.
If one of these parties does not contest the election then it will not reflect the majority's opinion, he said.
There was a need for holding dialogue for participation of all parties in the national polls but such a step was never taken, he said, adding, currently the country has been experiencing a "designed democracy".
He said Article 7 of the Constitution says all powers in the Republic belong to the people. However, if people's representatives are not elected in a transparent way, then Article-7 loses its spirit.
Prof Asif Nazrul of Dhaka University's law department said the January 7 election will take place in a situation in which AL candidates are likely to contest their "dummy candidates".
On the other hand, BNP boycotted the election amid a situation in which its leaders and activists faced police cases, arrests and detentions, he said.
Ridwanul Hoque, former teacher of DU's law department, said different symptoms suggest that the upcoming election will not be participatory and contesting.
If not then it cannot be said that there is democracy in the country, he said, adding, democracy is very much integrated to free, fair and inclusive elections.