Power and authority of EC and role of CTG

I would first of all like to make a distinction between a problem and a crises. In my opinion, a situation gives rise to a crisis only when it is beyond comprehension and control and of which no rational solution appears to exist. A situation which is not beyond solution and there exists rational methods to overcome it, however hard that may be, is to be designated as a problem rather than a crisis. Let me, therefore, begin by indicating that many aspects of the present situation are wrongly or intentionally painted as negative and sheer hopeless, which ,in fact , are positive expression of democratic spirit.

The present unrest of general public, their coming out in the street and protesting against any possible attempt or design to jeopardise a free and fair election should be hailed rather than be considered as a crisis by any person who sincerely believes in democracy. This is because the most important element of democracy is the conscious participation of the people and expression of their concern in matters related to the running of the country. This of course, involves administration, education, long term economic activity, justice, human rights, freedom of individuals, and all that are related to the welfare of the people.

Common people may not have the direct access to power but the embodiment of their power and the right to reflect their will and their judgement is to be sought in the general election. Election is a transient phenomenon but its effect is long lasting. It is like a Big Bang in the creation of the universe.

Democracy , in my opinion, is like a growing tree. It has its inner dead wood in its trunk as it has its components as also its flexible, growing, and living bark, branches and leaves. The dead wood of the trunk is important to keep the tree standing but it is the living, dynamic leaves and branches of the tree which connect it with the outer world through exchange of energy and the chemical elements as food for growth. It has always been the practice in that past that the government in power conducted the election who were elected through partisanship. However, it is very unfortunate that the unfair practices of the past government snatched away the faith of the people in the conventional electoral process. It was under such circumstances that the concept of care taker government came into existence. The caretaker government is thus a result of the loss of confidence in the government, the responsibility of which lies entirely with the government in question which through their foul play shattered the old system of election.

Caretaker government is an invention to counter the foul play of the party in power. Naturally, the emergence of the concept of caretaker government carries with it the bad memory of that past government who destroyed the confidence in the government. It is to be remembered and comprehended that the independence, the authority, and the power that were vested in the election commission during the period when party in power conducted the election was guided by the principle that the government should have as less freedom as possible in the affairs of conducting the election. But with the failure of the past party based government to hold a fair election in spite of all the constitutional rights and privileges given to the election commission, it was proved that election commission just like the government, lost the confidence of the voters in respect in their ability to conduct a free and fair election.

The emergence of the caretaker government, therefore, has its origin in the total lack of confidence in the system as a whole. The important point to note is that the constitutional power and independence given to the election commission when the election used to be carried out under the party based government is no longer tenable. I am talking about the spirit and the principle of the caretaker government which is solely intended to ensure a free and fair election. The caretaker government is assumed to be much more free of party influence than even the election commission which stands the possibility of being influenced or engineered by the party in power that selected them.

In reality, whether that has happened or not is to be judged by the people. Here people are supreme. Confidence and faith is an endowment which has to be earned by persons in power and cannot be claimed by merely showing the official position. If a university professor or a supreme court judge has failed to earn that confidence, or should I say, have failed to maintain their faith people usually attributed to these professions, the fault does not lie with the people but on those who have degraded the honour and prestige long associated to these professions.

Another important point to note is that the chief adviser of the caretaker government should not think of himself as a prime minister democratically elected. Neither should he choose the other advisers, in fact, all the advisers are equally responsible in representing the general public to ensure free and fair election. It is not the task of the caretaker government to only help the election commission as often is claimed by some members of some political parties. The caretaker government also have the freedom to scrutinise, on behalf of the people, the performance of the last government because they are likely to be most unbiased. This is a vantage point to look at things and act in quite a different way than a party government because the caretaker government belongs to all or to none. There is always a risk or a possibility that if the party that was in power is reelected will overlook all the mistakes and misdeeds of the last tenure. On the other hand, if the opposition comes back to power they might victimise the opposition or be blamed of doing so.

We often hear loud voices expressing concern for the protection of the constitution while the main concern should have been the other way round as to why in spite of our constitution the democratic rights are in danger. In fact, no constitution works on its own unless people with honesty and integrity work behind it. Constitution is far more than a piece of governmental engineering and is rather an expression of our national consensus on political issues by people not only of the past but also of those who are living now and are facing the challenge with open eyes and courage.

Constitution is not to be used as a shield for the protection of jobs of some officials whose task was to protect the democratic right of the people to express their wills through voting but have failed to do so by bad intention or inefficiency. Preserving the jobs of such people occupying so called constitutional posts is not the purpose of the constitution but to uphold the whole democratic system with its functionality and spirit.

People have not leased their democratic rights to any one, not to the election commission, nor to the caretaker government. In fact, there is no proxying in democracy, no discontinuity in its temporal flow, and therefore, no one for a moment can snatch away the rights of the people and captivate them, so long they maintain the courage to oppose.

Bangladesh, in that sense, is not in a bad shape but is rather boiling with the spirit of democratic demand. One may try to denounce it as chaos but it is in a creative chaotic environment that innovations take place. When water boils, it transforms into vapour from its whole body. It is a cooperative phenomenon, a phase of transition -- not to be mistaken as mere disorder.

I consider the present uprise of the people, their agitation for a fair and free election as a positive sign of democracy, because I have compared this situation with what I have seen in England on two occasions. I had the opportunity of witnessing two general elections there. Once when I was a Ph.D. student and again when I was there as Commonwealth Staff Fellow. I was shocked to observe that just because the weather was good, people, many of them, chose to go and enjoy holiday away from home than to go to the polls to cast their votes.

Their indifference, when compared with the sacrifice of our people for a free and fair election makes me optimistic, and one can surely see that this country is more prepared for democracy now than ever before and more ready than many other countries.

To appreciate this, we have to remember that democracy is possible only when people have capacity for justice and value it above personal and selfish ends. And also democracy is necessary because individuals, however high in their social position, have inclination for injustice and cannot be relied upon, leaving the people behind.

If you have a rotten rat in your bag, you have to throw it away. Use of artificial scent or handkerchief on your nose is no solution. Again, when the water boils in a kettle, don't keep the flame on and only tighten the lid, it will lead to an explosion.

The thing to do is to remove the cause of it. It is no accident that steam chambers often burst; it is guided by simple thermodynamic law of minimising the free energy of the system. Social forces have to be recognised in the same way and the expressions of public discontent have to be recognised as signals for social uprise guided by inevitable social laws. It is important that we interpret the signals and act wisely before it is too late. One thing is for sure, one cannot defy the laws -- physical or social -- but take only one of the solutions that are permitted by nature.

Prof. Dr. Ali Asgar is Head, Dept. of Medical Physics & Bio Medical Engineering, Gono Bishwabidyalay.