No move to change political culture

AL’s poll pledge to formulate code of conduct for political parties stays elusive
Ruling Awami League is yet to make a move to formulate a code of conduct for political parties in line with its electoral pledge to bring changes in the country’s political culture and establish good governance.
During Awami League’s nine months in office, the country’s politics seems to have regained its old look in intolerance, unlawful activities by ruling party men, lax observance of democratic practices within major political parties and parliament boycott by opposition parties.
“Tolerance and decency will be developed in the political culture and criminal activities and extortions will be banned. Efforts will be taken to formulate a code of conduct acceptable to all,” reads the AL electoral manifesto that contributed to party’s overwhelming victory in the last parliamentary polls.
It also pledged reforms for ensuring democratic practices within parties and promised to take all measures necessary to make the House more effective.
But in the view of the prevailing political situation, political analysts predict that the current parliament may face the same fate of previous parliaments that could not be effective due to frequent boycotts of main opposition parties since 1991.
The then opposition AL had stayed away from the House for 135 out of a total of 400 sittings of the fifth parliament between 1991 and 1996 and it boycotted 223 out of 373 sittings of the House in the last parliament.
Being in the opposition bench in the seventh parliament, between 1996 and 2001, the BNP had boycotted 163 House proceedings out of a total 382 sittings, official records preserved at the Parliament Secretariat show.
Going with the culture of House boycott, the main opposition BNP has begun staying away from the current parliament and its lawmakers joined only 22 out of 72 sittings of the ninth parliament.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday over telephone, AL presidium member Kazi Zafarullah said, “As far as I know, no work has begun to formulate the code of conduct.”
“A code of conduct of some sort is necessary to bring changes in politics, coming out of the culture of enforcing indiscriminate hartals and House boycotts,” Zafarullah asserted.
He claimed that efforts are on to ensure participation of the main opposition lawmakers in the House proceedings to make the parliament more effective.
Political analysts, however, observed that the ruling party, if it moves to formulate the code of conduct, might face enormous difficulties in getting a consensus as differences between the two rival major political parties continue to widen each passing day.
“It seems the ruling party does not want to reach an understanding with the opposition to bring changes in the political culture. The gap between the two parties has already widened,” M Hafizuddin Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, told The Daily Star.
He said the ruling AL had announced that the deputy speaker of the House would be elected from the opposition lawmakers but it did not keep its word. “This was the beginning…,” Hafizuddin said.
Asked if any move would be successful in forging a consensus between the rival parties on national issues, Hafizuddin said success of such move depends on the ruling party’s sincerity.
BNP has been threatening to launch street agitation at the end of this year or early next year against the government. Talking to The Daily Star yesterday over telephone, BNP senior leader MK Anwar expressed his frustration at the prevailing situation.
“I do not see any way of shunning the previous political culture as the government has made the situation worse,” Anwar said replying to a query whether the negative culture of politics will continue.
When his attention was drawn to the AL electoral manifesto to formulate a code of conduct to change political culture, Anwar, also a former minister, said the AL is not sincere in implementing its electoral manifesto and the ruling party is creating problems one after another.
He said the BNP does not have any alternatives but to begin street agitation against the government’s wrongdoings. He said he is not aware of the party’s stance on joining the parliament Sunday, when the House resumes after Eid recess.
However, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said his party lawmakers would not join the parliament until a congenial atmosphere is created in the House.
The last caretaker government had made a move to formulate the code of conduct with the consent of political parties through holding a planned national dialogue. During the “unofficial dialogues” with political parties to prepare the grounds for the December 29 parliamentary elections, the caretaker government advisers sought opinions of political leaders to ensure a smooth journey to a sustainable democracy. The move eventually failed.

Courtesy of The Daily Star