Tasmiah Nuhiya Ahmed, Executive Editor, The New York Times, Bangladesh National Section:
A country cannot be truly democratic until its citizens have the opportunity to choose their representatives through elections that are free and fair. The basic function of an election is to offer a choice to the electorate and represent the will of the people. Critical development efforts cannot succeed without a legitimate and democratically elected government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens. Elections provide an important opportunity to advance democratization and encourage political liberalization and hence, it should be held under a non-partisan government. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered to hold the 11th parliamentary election through negotiations with the opposition a short time after the January 5 election of 2014. However, ordinary citizens are very much curious to see if this commitment shall be met before the next election is held. Back in 2014, the ruling party Awami League went forward with an election that 21 political parties had boycotted, including the 18-party opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). With regards to the upcoming election in 2018, political analysts expressed their view that no unified electoral process can be drawn out of how the next election will be held. They also said that there is still no symptom of any solution through discussions among the political parties (Prothom Alo). In evaluating the political situation, former Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University and Professor of Political Science, Emazuddin Ahmad said in the first light, “Right now there is no fair trend in politics. Especially due to lack of voting, there has been a crisis of election. There are violations of the traditional rules of non-coming to the government through elections. Now the disbelief between the government and the opponents, if it is not resolved properly, this solution will be solved on the streets, it is always seen (Prothom Alo Report). Another Prothom Alo report also says that as part of the national united effort to demand a fair election, on September 22 of this year, Dr. Kamal Hossain’s Ganoformam will arrange a large gathering in Dhaka. There will be 14 parties, all other parties except Jamaat-e-Islami will be invited.
With regards to the upcoming election, the Commonwealth secretary general Patricia Scotland has underlined the need for participatory government and elections in Bangladesh. She said in an exclusive interview with Prothom Alo during her tour of Bangladesh in August, 2018 that- we are hoping all parties will participate peacefully in the democratic process for if there is to be a democratic election, it does need all to participate so that the process can be maintained.
Therefore, we expect that the upcoming Election of Bangladesh would prove to be an effectively utilized tool for fostering political openings and expanding political participation. We still hope that the electoral process in the 11th parliamentary election would offer all the political parties and civic groups an opportunity to mobilize and organize supporters and share alternative platforms with the public.