Bangladesh needs a swift compromise

DHAKA: A state of emergency in Bangladesh has hauled the country back from the brink of all-out violence, but crucial electoral reforms could take at least six months, analysts said on Saturday .

However, they added that trouble lies ahead if the bitter political rivals fail to reach a swift compromise on preparations for general elections.

The emergency measures and night time curfew announced by President Iajuddin Ahmed followed months of opposition strikes, blockades and violent street protests against alleged attempts by the outgoing government to rig polls which had been scheduled for Jan 22.

Ahmed also resigned as caretaker government chief along with all but one of his cabinet. He also postponed the elections saying that free and fair polls were not possible without the participation of the opposition which had announced a boycott.

A new interim government was expected to take over within the next few days.

The emergency, under which political all gatherings are banned, may sound dramatic but most Bangladeshis are likely to greet it as welcome relief from the destructive feuding between the two main parties -- the main opposition Awami League and the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The two parties have maintained a stranglehold on power since 1990.

“Definitely, the people are disgusted with the political situation. The people will be very eager to see what the politicians do next,” said commentator and associate law professor Asif Nazrul.

But Nazrul said the composition of the new caretaker government would be crucial to whether the situation would deteriorate further.

“If the person who becomes chief adviser (head of the interim government) is not acceptable (to both parties), then his government will not have credibility and it may lead to martial law,” he warned.

“I think that if the government is not acceptable then this will be a first step towards martial law. People want security first and democracy second, and the ordinary people are fed up with these two parties,” he added.

The opposition has alleged that the voter list has up to 14 million fake names and demanded that a fresh one be compiled to ensure free and fair elections.

It would now observe the measures taken by the new interim government “to correct the list and carry out necessary reforms to pave the way for meaningful elections”, said opposition spokesman Abdul Jalil.

“The president has admitted that there are errors in the voter list and it is now his duty to correct it within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Work to correct the voter list, however, could take many months.

Pollster Nazim Kamarn Chowdhury said he welcomed the president’s decision which had brought the country back to a “saner plain”.

“The real challenge of the interim government will be to correct the voters list. The composition of the new interim government will demonstrate how sincere the government is in carrying out the reforms demanded by the opposition parties,” he said.“Correcting the list is a huge task. It can be done but it will take a minimum of six months, if not more,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, all the political parties would have no choice but to accept the new interim government and wait until it finished its task.

Commentator Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, the country’s foremost intellectual, said the fledgling democracy was still in danger.—AFP