Politicians need consensus on polls-time govt to resolve impasse: Analysts

Highlights:

• Bangladesh is on the brink of a political crisis and the issues related to the upcoming general elections need to be addressed rationally, said Sharmeen Murshid, CEO of Brotee
• If we really want, we can find a political common ground between the party in power and the parties in the opposition, said Zafar Sobhan, editor of Dhaka Tribune
• It has become clear that Bangladesh will not have any fair elections under the current regime, said Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosanghati Andolan

The ruling party and the opponents in the country need to reach a common ground on forming an election-time government which is acceptable and sustainable, said political analysts and civil society members at a discussion on Thursday.

Bangladesh is on the brink of a political crisis and turmoil and the issues related to the upcoming general elections need to be addressed rationally, said Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive officer of the election observation group "Brotee", at the discussion titled "Common Ground: How to Get to Free and Fair Elections."

"As a nation, we emerged as a result of a government [Pakistan] not wanting to transfer power after the 1970 general elections. That was a fair election but the government did not want to concede, triggering an extreme conflict which led to the Liberation War and independence," she said, adding: "That is the legacy that the people of Bangladesh still carry."

English daily Dhaka Tribune in partnership with the Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka organised the event at a city hotel.

Urging the political parties to find an accord, Sharmeen said, "Finding a common ground is possible if each party moves to understand and appreciate others. It is very difficult when you [parties] have already made up your position even before the negotiations have begun." 

"If you allow the people to vote freely, people take the right decision," Sharmeen added.

Zafar Sobhan, the editor of the Dhaka Tribune, said, "If we really want, we can find a political common ground between the party in power and the parties in the opposition."

"If we look at the 2014 and 2018 elections, those were constitutional and have given us a government and…. the last eight years. An argument could be made that okay we should go on like those elections but my sense is that it is not what the ruling party wants," Sobhan said.

"They (the ruling party) want a more participatory election that happened in the past and of course, that would be what the opposition wants - something more participatory," he added, saying: "The question is – how can we get there?"

"Maybe we need massive reform whether that reform needs to be done through the caretaker or neutral or interim government," the Dhaka Tribune editor said.

"Maybe we talk about a constitutional convention, the constitutional core but let us have these discussions first. Let us talk about a sustainable responsible answer," Zafar Sobhan added. 

Addressing the meeting, BNP leader Rumeen Farhana, who recently resigned as a lawmaker, said that a caretaker government is necessary to resolve the political impasse that the country is facing right now.

Zonayed Saki, the chief coordinator of Ganosanghati Andolan, said, "It has become clear that Bangladesh will not have any fair elections under the current regime."

"We want elections under the interim government of political consensus which is not possible excluding the Awami League. It [the ruling party] has to resign first," he added.

"If the Awami League does not come to a consensus, there will be consequences, he said," he said. 

"It is not only a matter of Bangladesh but an international matter as well. If we do not reach a conclusion, I do not see anything but a civil war," Saki added.

Mentioning that political crises need to be handled through consensus, Nahim Razzaq, a ruling party lawmaker, said, "Going forward, let us come up with a better solution about the election-time government."

Norwegian ambassador to Bangladesh Espen Rikter-Svendsen, eminent scientist Professor Rounaq Jahan and former foreign secretary Shamsher M Chowdhury, among others, also spoke at the opening session.