Where lies the remedy?
If there is only one person to be blamed for this situation, it is Professor Iajuddin Ahmed, the honorable president cum CA of the republic. The president has, by assuming the dual role of president and chief of the caretaker government, made a mess of both the institutions -- the office of the president as well as that of the caretaker government -- not to mention the election 2007.
The president has wasted 45 days in the name of resolving the political stalemate, with little or no progress. Some critics suggest that he has, in fact, by going alone in an authoritarian style instead of taking his advisers in confidence, made the situation more complex. Nobody now believes that a free, fair and meaningful election that is acceptable to all can be held within January 2007.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. If the president means business, and is serious about holding a free, fair and meaningful election, he will do better if he extends the time limit by another 90 days. If not for anything else, he needs this time to make a reasonably accurate voter list. The list that our election officials have produced so far, at a cost of nearly Taka 100 crore of this poor country's taxpayers' money, is learnt to be rubbish, to put it mildly.
The list has to be scrapped and dumped to the waste paper bin where it belongs. The same has to be done with the EC itself. In response to the demands of the 14-party coalition, and other political parties, what our election officials have done in the name of updating the voter list (for the third time) in the last 10 days or so is nothing but a crude "tamasha" (hoax) with the people.
They are supposed to go door to door and correct the list. I haven't met anyone who has seen them. I live in a 48-flat tower complex. Even as a modest assumption it has 150 voters. Nobody from the EC has turned up as yet. I still don't know whether I am a voter or not. As the media reports suggest, this case is similar all over the country, especially in the cities. We are now told by the EC that the voter roll that is being corrected/updated now cannot be printed because of time constrain. We have to be content with a hand-corrected voter list. Isn't that the biggest joke of the year?
So what is the remedy? As far as I am concerned, the best option is to extend the time limit, remove those in the EC who are responsible for this mess, or who have become controversial for one reason or other, and go for complete reform of the electoral process without any fear or favor so that the people have full confidence and trust in it.
The question is how to do it within the ambit of our constitution? We note with great curiosity that our politicians, especially those from 4-party alliance, have of late developed great fascination (!) for the constitution. They won't agree to deviate an inch, nor accept any interpretation other then their own of any provision of the constitution so far as the reform of election commission, or any other matter related to electoral reforms is concerned. Although we see that they didn't mind amending the constitution to indemnify the killers of the father of the nation, or to increase the retirement age of the Supreme Court judges so that the man of their choice could become the chief of the caretaker government.
The president does not necessarily need to suffer from such phobia. We have seen him being quite liberal in interpreting the constitutional provisions when it came to him taking over as the chief of the caretaker government by by-passing so many other options of the constitution, or when taking unilateral decisions ignoring the opinions of his advisers. Why doesn't the president once again show some flexibility in adhering to constitutional provisions for the sake of democracy? I am sure that if he is sincere about it he will find a way out.
Another most important thing at the moment is for the president to relinquish the job of CA and request Justice Mahmudul Amin Choudhury to take over the responsibility as per the provisions of the constitution. It may sound harsh, but this is the ground reality one has to accept if the nation has to overcome the present political crisis and have a free, fair and credible election.
All the political parties want election because they know it well that there is no other way to go to power. The only difference is that the BNP- Jammat jote wants it to happen as per their blue-print while the others want a level playing field.
It is the sacred duty of the caretaker government to ensure a level playing field. For that to happen it is essential that a person, who can play an absolutely neutral, bold and dynamic role, head the caretaker government. Nobody, except probably BNP-Jamaat, will suggest that Professor Iajuddin Ahmed is that person.
Having said that, there is no denying that Professor Iajuddin Ahmed, in his capacity as the honorable president of the country, is the person the entire nation is relying upon to pull the country out of crisis. The Almighty Allah has given him the opportunity to play a historic role at this critical juncture of our national life. The people at large expect him to play that role.