The London meeting of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman resolved the ongoing crisis of the interim government with the major political parties, especially BNP, over the recent elections in Bangladesh.

Although the interim government has announced a possible election in the first half of April, the London meeting has reached a consensus that the election will now be held in early February.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus hoped that the interim government would continue its work on the trial of the July killings and minimum reforms, in addition to preparing for the elections. The visible success in this regard will also be considered as the success of the interim government.

In such a situation, it is necessary to formulate a detailed outline on the reforms, the trial of the July murder and the election. Because if the election has to be held in February, there is not much time in hand. So proper planning can bring success in three areas – the trial of the July murder, the election with minimal reforms.

We know that the trial of the arbitrary killings of July 2024 and the authoritarian state system of the past is ongoing. With this ongoing process, the government needs to come up with a priority action plan on reforms. Some of these reforms are very important and need to be implemented before the elections. These reforms need to be implemented. Because without minimum reforms, the election process will remain a big question.

There is already a kind of frustration among the people about the reforms. The government has to come up with some visible plans to eliminate it. In this case, a plan to outline the implementation of the reform in two steps can be undertaken and that can be a reasonable decision. That is pre-election and post-election reforms.

These can only be implemented if consensus is reached through ongoing dialogue with political parties and their commitments are met. We got an indication of that consensus through Muhammad Yunus and Tarique Rahman’s London meeting. In the present reality, it is not impossible to convert it into a greater consensus.

 

Immediate dialogue with political parties and stakeholders should be the main priority to identify pre-election reforms.

 

There is no alternative to political parties agreeing with the interim government on some fundamental reforms. If this is not done, it may be difficult to set a date for the election. The country is once again facing a political crisis.

Therefore, the interim government should reach a logical conclusion on the question of reforms and elections through an amicable and inclusive dialogue process. At the same time, political parties should come forward with a positive attitude.

In the context of reform, steps should be taken to identify and implement the July Charter, the Constitution, the Election Commission and the electoral system, the parliamentary system, the democratic system within the political party, the administrative and judicial system, and other things that the political parties can agree on.

So that an acceptable election can be organised with at least some urgent and minimal reforms before the election.

The implementation of the pre-election reform process starts from the hands of the interim government which is running and the post-election government will be responsible for implementing the rest of the reform proposals.

 

However, many people may have a dilemma, will the reforms continue through the elected government?

 

Although the lack of confidence of the people in the reform process of the elected government in the past and present reality of Bangladesh is historic, in this reality, the political parties have to promise that they will take appropriate positive steps to implement the reform proposals that are logical, necessary and implementable in the context of Bangladesh.

We have to bring those things into the reform process so that the people are not neglected this time, and the political parties have to make a real commitment to bring the interests of the people to the fore. 

At the same time, we are also seeing that political parties are repeatedly saying that many reforms are possible through the elected government and they are very much interested in taking forward the reforms. There is a need to work out how political parties can be held accountable for these commitments. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the reforms agreed with it are sustainable in the long term.

Therefore, an institutional mechanism should be developed to hold political parties accountable so that they do not end their responsibilities only by making promises to the people, but they can implement them.

It can be started with an acceptable July charter. We see that the July Charter negotiations are ongoing and the consensus commission is working on that as well. Guidelines for the implementation of post-election reforms can be made through the participation of political parties in the July Charter.

If the political parties can come to a consensus by aligning the reform proposals in their election manifestos with their respective activities proposed by them, the people’s trust in them will increase further.

The political will of the political parties to agree on some basic issues is visible. That is why it will also be a positive thing for political parties to present a detailed direction and outline of post-election reforms to the public.

At the same time, it will remain a promise and commitment document for the elected government to meet the expectations of the people. If that is done, the next elected government will not be able to easily ignore that promise and commitment to reform.

The political parties should also positively agree in the interest of the country and come forward in this regard. It is time to get out of our historical political practice of blaming each other and violence. They can also play a leading role in building a positive, people-friendly and sustainable political system by providing a comfortable future to the people.

 

In this regard, BNP can take the responsibility of that leadership as a large and popular party in Bangladesh.

 

Political parties should always keep in mind that politics should not be a hindrance to the proposed reforms in the context of Bangladesh and political parties should work with assurance.

The political parties are on the verge of the historic period of reconstruction of the country, if they can use that opportunity properly, the country, the people and they will benefit. Although political parties always talk about working in the interest of the people, but at the end of the day, their interests remain largely ignored.

We have to bring those things into the reform process so that the people are not neglected this time, and the political parties have to make a real commitment to bring the interests of the people to the fore.

Therefore, it is necessary to reform in the interest of the country through the mentality of exempting everyone, to reach unity on the trial of July murder and elections, and to build a constitutional system so that the reforms agreed by everyone are long-lasting and sustainable.

Bulbul Siddiqi is Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Sociology, North South University.