Concerns about the ability to hold fair elections: Debapriya Bhattacharya

Debapriya Bhattacharya, Honorary Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Convener of the Citizen Platform, said, "I do not have any survey that says that elections will not be held. Rather, elections are now inevitable. But concerns remain about the ability to hold fair elections. It is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission to remove this concern and ensure participatory and acceptable elections."

He said these things in response to questions from journalists after a regional consultation meeting organized by the Citizen Platform at a restaurant in Chattogram city on Wednesday (December 10) afternoon.

Before the meeting, the participating citizens said that they would give the highest priority to good governance, accountability, corruption-free administration, impartiality, reduction of inequality, employment, transparency and security in the upcoming elections.

People from different walks of life—politicians, lawyers, doctors, journalists, teachers, students, cultural activists, and social workers—participated in the meeting that lasted from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Stating that everyone has accepted that the elections will be held next February, Debapriya Bhattacharya said that everyone accepts that the elections will take place. But the concern about whether the elections will be fair and acceptable or not has not gone away yet. Professor Yunus said that he will give the best election in history—we are waiting for that.

Debapriya said that the Citizen Platform is taking two initiatives—a digital “Reform Watch” platform, which will be inaugurated on the 14th; and the provision of election manifestos based on citizen expectations to political parties on the 20th. In his words, Bangladesh is now in a kind of oscillation—on one hand, the possibility of infinite change, and on the other hand, uncertainty about the sustainability of the progress achieved.

Stating that no one, be it the Election Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission or the political parties, has emphasized the need for these reforms, Debapriya Bhattacharya said that the experience of the last one year has made the political parties understand that doing nothing will not help. This realization has been created that it will be difficult to stay in the country if there is major injustice or misrule. It is not yet certain whether this will be sustainable or not.

He further said that the demands for good governance, accountability, rule of law and security have come strongly from the residents of Chattogram and university students. In his words, “The demand for politicians to be free from corruption and accountable has emerged in the biggest way today. At the same time, citizens should take a strong role in all matters, instead of depending on the government.

Debopriyo Bhattacharya said that after discussing with citizens in different regions, they have seen that everyone wants efficient administration, independent judiciary and impartial law and order forces. It remains to be seen how political parties will give importance to these issues in their manifestos. But more important than that is ensuring the implementation of the announced promises.

Debopriyo Bhattacharya also mentioned the disappointment of the people with the transparency of the government’s income and expenditure. He said that there has been a demand for politicians to publish their personal and family assets every three or six months. Just as the previous government could not fulfill it, the current interim government did not either. As a result, there is a fear among many that the future government may follow the same path.

He expressed regret that despite discussions on reforms for one and a half years, political parties have not been able to make much progress in internal reforms.

In the meeting, which began with the national anthem, various Professionals delivered speeches. CPD's Mostafizur Rahman, Jamaat's assistant secretary Mohammad Shahjahan, Sujon's former convener Professor Sikandar Khan, East Delta University Vice Chancellor Mohammad Nazim Uddin and former Chhatra Dal central leader Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad were present.