Goroya Rajniti – there is no need for it now
It is very frustrating to see the senior newsman and editors are joining the hue and cry with the corrupt politicians about opening up the politics.
First we would like to ask what is it that politicians are not doing now that they could do before the ban on politics? Off course, they are not allowed to take the streets to engage in the politics of destruction. This should continue for a long time – if not forever. With all the media outlet and participatory programmes, we do not see why the politicians are in need of politics of disruption. No need for that.
None of the parties, except for Jamat, has ousted the arrested corrupt politicians from their respective parties. Its a shame for all the mainstream political parties. What do Hasina or Khaleda needs to oust them? Goroya rajniti? Shame on them. They are waiting for an opportune time so that they can include those corrupts behind bar to include in the party committees again. They should oust or at least suspend the membership of all the arrested politicians. There is no need for lifting ban on politics for that to happen. If needed, government can selectively give party disciplinary committees to hold meetings. There should not be any lifting of the ban on politics before ACC declares that they have exhausted all the big fishes and published the list to the public who has plundered public faith and money. All those should have no place in formal party politics. All the membership of those culprits should be taken away by the rest of the politicians who were fortunate enough to escape the bars this time.
What else do we need for the ban to go?
Election commission should make it clear that political parties are not entities with right of their own. The citizens and individual politicians have their right in participate and give opinion in helping to formulate a modern electoral laws. Election commission can engage the politicians as individual citizens – just like they are doing it for other stakeholders of the soceity.
It should be very clear to everybody that one do not talk to the theives if one wants to stop the stealing!! It does not need experts to realize that. Who are they to talk to us about how much time that Election Commission should take for making the voter list? They should be ashamed that they still volunteer opinions!
During last two general elections, both the major parties had their electoral defeats. Did the nation see any taking of responsiblity of those defeats? Rather we saw accusations and subsequently, citizens were made to suffer while they tried to stop the governance – what little governance were present there.
Political parties, as they are now, are the entitites who failed the nation. That is why we are going through these reforms. Before the political parties are ready to register themselves with the Election Commission, EC should not have to bother about inviting them as an entities. Rather EC should talk informally with the individual politicians to take opinons so the nation can benefit from their expertise and insights. Every time, the EC would recognize any political parties as separate entities b4 they actually register with EC after fulfilling all the requirements, there will be grounds for future problems and defaulters. So, our opinion is to forget about talking to the political parties, rather talk to politicians whom you consider worth of giving opinion.
Bottomline: The government should take the ACC greenlight as a signal to lift ban on politics. Once ACC is done with their list-making and after that list is public, political parties should oust or suspend the primary membership of those culprits. If the political parties do not do this, if they want to wait until there is a court verdict against each of them, government should wait until the end of the prosecution of each of these culprits. But if political parties do oust them, govt should lift the ban on politics, not b4 that. Once that ban is gone, the political parties should be asked by the EC to formally apply for permission to do politics as part of being eligible to participate in upcoming election by fulfilling all the requirements. Only when they get the permission, EC should talk to them as political parties. This process should take as late as mid-next year.
By this time, there will certainly a need for finalization of the electoral laws, etc. EC should not wait for the ban on politics to go. Instead of wasting time, it would be wiser to engage the politicians as individual citizens and progress on the electoral and political reform.
If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the members of the CG, EC, ACC, and above all, the members of the Election Commission, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them. Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.
Article Writen by :- Innovation Line