Commentary: Constitution Day is observed but where is the Constitution?
– Mainul Hosein :
The Constitution Day was observed officially on 4th November. The main discussion meeting took place at the Supreme Court premises.
The Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan presided over the meeting and Chief Justice of Maldives Ahmed Muthasim Adnan attended it as the chief guest.
This Constitution of parliamentary democracy was introduced by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972.
Now it is known as the 1972 Constitution. The occasion was celebrated with great fanfare.
It was a tragedy that within a short span of time democracy was found unworkable in the facts and circumstances prevailing at that time.
Despite strong opposition from his own party Awami League, Bangabandhu established the one-party BAKSAL revolutionary government.
The leftist parties though not elected joined the government. BAKSAL met with a fatal end in 1975.
When the BNP came to power after the fall of Gen Ershad in 1991 the democratic Constitution of 1972 was revived with the cooperation of Awami League and other parties in the parliament.
Though the present Awami League government’s constitutional basis is the same 1972 parliamentary Constitution but the government had no difficulty in bypassing completely the democratic Constitution for running a despotic dictatorship.
Despite the fundamental rights of the individuals guaranteed under the Constitution, the government practiced secret killing, forced disappearance and police excesses making the people completely helpless about safety and security of life.
Thus there was no protection of the rule of law. The people lived in fear of state terrorism.
The independence of the judiciary as protector of the Constitution and enforcer of fundamental rights was non-existent.
The democratic Constitution was amended not only to discard the election-time caretaker government.
Under the amended provision of the Constitution the parliamentary election will be held under the sitting Awami League government.
The parliament will not be dissolved for the election as is done under the parliamentary system everywhere.
The government could not be fully sure of election victory though the election will be held under the sitting Awami League government.
An elaborate mechanism of rigging the election was devised for rejecting wholesale the people’s vote to decide election victory.
Under the election rigging system an alternative election system was put to work by which the government servants under the supervision of the government will decide the entire election results.
The election held under the Election Commission has lost all relevance for changing the government by popular vote.
The last two elections were won by the government without facing the people in a free and fair election.
Luckily, because of the deep public anger against rigged election the US and other Western democracies are insisting that the people’s right to free and fair election is a human right issue and they want to be sure that the people’s right to choose or change the government in a free and fair election is well protected.
The government is not agreeable to accept free and fair election as understood in a democracy.
The government argues that holding the election in compliance with the amended Constitution is free and fair election.
The US government is applying its visa sanction policy on those who will obstruct the free and fair election.
The government is in a desperate situation. It cannot face an ignominious defeat in a free election.
The government has observed the Constitution Day but not seeking a peaceful constitutional way to overcome the crisis of popular movements threatening popular upsurge and anarchy.
A Constitution is a system and the parliamentary election should be held under a non-party caretaker government as a constitutional compulsion.
But it has been made abundantly clear that giving up power is not an option for the prime minister.
The prime minister must be restrained for her own good and the greater good of the country.