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Election can wait until the nation is saved from ruination
Farid Hossain

Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since Jan. 11. The emergency has saved the nation from a one-sided general election (it was scheduled for Jan. 22) and anticipated bloodbath. Bangladeshis -- from a businessman to a rickshaw puller -- greeted the emergency with great relief. It was because the days preceding the proclamation of the emergency were very alarming. It came when the country was surely heading toward a civil war -- one political camp vowing to resist the Jan. 22 vote and the other to participate in it at any cost.

The then-caretaker government and its chief adviser President Iajuddin Ahmed made the already grave situation worse by unfairly throwing his weight behind the four-party alliance of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

The military has played a huge role in defusing the political crisis that was spinning out of control of the politicians. In dong so the military has performed commendable job. Few disagree to this notion.

Chief adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed in his first address to the nation, 10 days after he took over as the chief adviser, spelt out the tasks his interim government sought to perform. He made it clear that the objective was to hold a free, fair and credible election and hand over the power to an elected government. The chief adviser also laid out a roadmap to reach this goal.

A flawless and problem-free voter list, a reconstituted Election Commission, a depoliticized public administration and above all keeping the holders of ill-gotten money off from the election race were among the agenda Dr. Ahmed mentioned in his first address to the nation over radio and television.

Once again, no one disagree with the chief adviser. A hasty but flawed election is not at all desirable. The nation wants an election that will truly reflect the verdict of the voters.

This has, however, raised a very pertinent question. How long will this caretaker government remain in power? How long does it take to hold a really free, fair and credible election?

Bangladesh is no stranger to state of emergency, military and authoritarian rule. But the latest state of emergency has been hailed as a welcome move -- a rare appreciation for this type of generally unpopular steps. The political crisis that led to the proclamation of the state of the emergency better explains why the people of Bangladesh welcomed a move that, in a different context, would have been violently rejected. The media, which is generally allergic to any suspension of constitutional rights and press freedom, also did not object to the proclamation of the state of emergency.

The media rather welcomed it because it prevented the country from plunging into a bloody civil war. The nation consensus on this issue is simple and clear: The election can wait until the nation is saved from the ruination. If a patient is on death bed, it is the responsibility of the doctors to save him first, even if that means prescription of painful surgery. The patient seems to be still in intensive care unit, even though it has started recovering. It is unclear how long does it take for a full recovery.

Until then the political parties will have to be contended with only indoor political activities. Outdoor political activities like holding rallies, processions and street protests, have been disallowed by the emergency powers rules. Restrictions have also been threatened to be imposed to gag the media -- although the Information Adviser assured that media will continue to remain free even under the emergency. Let’s wait and see.