‘Lopsided polls will intensify current economic crisis’
Staff Reporter :
Claiming enfranchisement the only way out of the current economic crisis, speakers, including renowned economists and political experts, have said that the ongoing economic crisis in the country is linked to the political standoff and it will intensify if the upcoming parliamentary elections are held in a questionable way like the previous two.
They came up with the remarks while speaking at a webinar on “Repression, Movement and Economy: Roadmap of Bangladesh” organized by the Forum for Bangladesh Studies on Thursday.
Speaking at the webinar, Dr Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor of the Department of Politics and Government of Illinois State University of USA, said, “This economic crisis did not happen suddenly. Rather, it is the inevitable consequence of the system that has been created by the 2014 and 2018 national elections.”
“No one of the incumbent government is accountable to the people and the ruling party feels that they will continue to rule through repression. The people of the country are paying for it,” he added.
“Enfranchisement is only the way out of the current economic crisis. Let everyone franchise their rights. Let the people decide what the course of Bangladesh will be. There will be no participatory economy without participatory governance. There will be no participatory politics without participatory elections,” he added.
Ahsan H Mansoor, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute, said, “We don’t want to see elections like 2014 and 2018. We must find a way to make a compromise. Both the government and the opposition have to make concessions. We expect a good election. Let the democratic practice come back again.”
Blaming the government for the current economic crisis, he said, “The financial sector is in dire straits as the economy has not gone through such a long crisis in the last 30 years. The government is not able to pay the arrears of the energy, fertilizer and aircraft sectors. This situation did not happen in a day.”
“Measures have not been taken by considering the market situation. There is a lack of presence of leadership and sufficient knowledge in the economic sector. The government decision related to policy to face challenges was wrong as the decisions have been taken for political reasons,” Mansur added.
He also said, “The ongoing dollar crisis would not go easily. The government will not be able to take any action against the persons, who are offending in the financial sector, if it assumes power by holding a one-sided national election as the government will have to win the election by the help of the corrupted people. The corruption that is seen is a reflection of political decay.”
Claiming that the police are taking various steps illegally, Asif Nazrul, Professor of Law Department of Dhaka University, said, “The police are not being proportionate in the application of force. Police are blaming BNP without investigating the incident centring the mass rally on October 28. They are filing cases, even if there has not been any incident. The credibility of the police has been completely undermined.”
Claiming that the state institutions are losing their state character, he further said, “Institutions have become tools to fulfill the wishes of the ruling party. How will there be a fair election with these institutions and forces?”
“It is clear that the government wants to use state institutions to make elections completely arbitrary. If the elections are one-sided, rigged and questionable, there is no accountability in the state,” he added.
“The state is approaching towards another farcical national election and if the institutions of the state, the civil society and the media cannot play a role, then we all will have to preparing for mass suicide. This suicide is the suicide of democracy, state capacity and economic development,” he said.
Former Registrar General of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Ikteder Ahmed, CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun, Journalist Monir Haider and Prof Mahmudul Hasan, among others, spoke at the webinar.
