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Download PDF Political parties should pledge in their manifestos that the coming general election would be the last one under a caretaker government, and polls in future will be held under elected governments.
This was suggested by Shushanoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), a citizens forum for political reforms and good governance, at its first national convention in the city yesterday.
“Caretaker government should not be a permanent system. It has been created due to the mistrust among political parties but it cannot be a good practice for democracy,” said Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of the forum.
Shujan put forward a set of recommendations for the political parties to include those in their manifestos for the next general elections.
“The political parties should pledge that they will hold discussions in and outside parliament for creating a national consensus that the caretaker government system should be dissolved after the next elections,” Shujan suggested at the national convention following a series of regional workshops across the country.
Asked about this, eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain who spoke at the convention, later said caretaker government system would not be required if elected governments could hold free and fair elections.
“If good and honest people are elected in the next election, it can hold elections (in future), and caretaker government will not be required,” he told journalists.
Dr Kamal said the constitution has become ineffective. The people, who are the owners of the country, have become helpless, powerless and victims of political parties. The people should be made aware that they are the owners of the state, not the political parties. He added, “We have to work intensively on it.”
He regretted that the perpetrators of many bomb attacks and killings have not yet been brought to book, and the use of money and arms in elections continues virtually destroying democracy.
Shujan proposed that honest and neutral chief election commissioner and election commissioners have to be appointed in consultation with the opposition parties.
The Election Commission (EC) Secretariat should be free from control of the Prime Minister’s Office and have its own budget and authority to appoint its officials and employees, it suggested. “A separate service cadre should be created for the EC.”
The EC should be empowered to cancel candidature if any candidate or his/her agent commits any serious crime during the election, the recommendations said.
The speaker should be appointed from the opposition, and he/she has to leave political party, the forum stressed.
It also proposed formation of parliamentary committees on the first day of a parliament’s session with the opposition lawmakers heading the committees to ensure their accountability.
Laws need to be formulated so that legislators do not get involved in local governments, the proposals said.
Political parties must get registered with the EC and the parties must have written constitution. President and general secretary of any party must not remain in the same posts for more than two terms, Shujan demanded.
Presiding over the convention, Shujan Central Committee President Prof Muzaffer Ahmed said, “We want to see democracy in our everyday life. Without financial clarity of the MPs, the reforms in the EC or caretaker government will not be effective.”
Participants in the convention felt that there should be a citizens booth in each polling centre to observe elections.
Lawmakers should not be given any block allocation of funds as they use that for partisan interests, they said.
Speakers included Dr Hamida Hossain of Ain O Shalish Kendra, Muhammad Jahangir of Centre for Development Communication, Taleya Rehman of Democracy Watch, Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury of Gonoshasthya Kendra, Justice Ebadul Haque and Badre Alam Khan.
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