Country’s eminent citizens including constitutional experts on Tuesday said the country would face a ‘catastrophic situation’ if the ongoing political stalemate over the holding of the next general elections could not be resolved. In this connection they also stressed the need for holding dialogue among the major political parties immediately to find out a solution.Talking to The Indepen-dent Barrister Rafiq Ul Huq, Dr Kamal Hossain, Dr Shadhin Malik, former Chairman of TIB M Hafijuddin Khan, and Professor Dr Borhan Uddin Khan of the Law Department of Dhaka University made it clear that without political dialogue the present crisis could nor be resolved.
Their observation came in the wake of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announcement on Monday that the election would be held under the present government as per the present Constitution.
The main opposition BNP which has been demanding a poll-time caretaker government outright rejected the announcement saying that PM’s stance reflected government’s unwillingness to reach a consensus.
“There is no way out without dialogue. I have been suggesting this since the emergence of the present crisis. Both the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP must sit to find out the solution,” Barrister Rafiq ul Huq told The Independent.
He also noted that the present crisis could not be resolved by outsiders.
“The solution lies with our political parties and it is they who should resolve it. If both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition reached a consensus then the crisis would be solved,” he added.
“If the opposition does not go to election under the present government then that election would not get credibility. So to have a credible election consensus is a must”, he noted.
Dr Kamal Hossain apprehended a catastrophic situation if a consensus could not be reached over the poll time government system.
He, however, suggested that not only the political parties, but such a dialogue should also involve all the stakeholders including professional groups, women representatives etc.
“Right now I do not want to give any expert opinion on constitutional methods. What I feel is that a national dialogue is a must to find out a formula which would be acceptable to all. A system which would be acceptable to all would also be acceptable to me,” he said.
He warned that the continuation of the political crisis would result in a grave consequence for the country.
Responding to a question he said that people did not give Awami League the mandate to scrap the caretaker government system. And it was not in their election manifesto.
“In the last few decades we have advanced a lot and we have achieved many things.
All our achievement would be spoiled and our possibilities to make further achievement would be diminished if we cannot resolve the present crisis”, he said.
Chairman of SUJAN, a civil society platform Dr Hafij Uddin Khan said that election under a political government is not acceptable and also illogical under the present circumstances.
The former caretaker government adviser said that since the two major parties do not trust each other and the election commission has also become controversial, election under this government as spelled out by the prime minister will not be a credible one.
Dr Hafij was also critical of holding elections without dissolving the parliament and the cabinet.
In all the parliamentary democracies including UK, Australia, and India, parliament and cabinet are dissolved before the elections and the incumbent prime minister stays in office at the request of the head of state, he said.
Dr Shadihn Malik said that politically AL will be loser if it holds election without dissolving both the parliament and the cabinet.
If the prime minister had said that the parliament would be dissolved then we could say that at least she conceded one demand but now one has to admit that she has not left any space for compromise.
On the other hand Professor Borhan Uddin Khan of Dhaka University expressed his utter dismay over the current political stalemate expecting a discussion between the major political players to resolve it.
“The main spirit of democracy as well as politics is discussion and dialogue. Out political parties are failing to perform their responsibilities by not involving themselves in dialogue. It is also the breach of political ethics,” he said.
The political leaders do not have the right to play with the fate of the 160 million of the country by pushing the country towards confrontation, he observed.
But he hoped that the bitter experience of the 1/11 is still vivid in the memory of the politicians and they would reach a consensus considering the fallout of the present stalemate.
‘Because this time the consequence would be much graver if they failed to perform their due role as politicians,” he added.
-With The Independent input
