Series of important political events likely in March

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A series of significant events are scheduled to take place this month, which are likely to set the immediate political scenario of the country vis-à-vis the stalled ninth parliamentary election, which is supposed to be held by the year end.

The government is likely to decide soon on lifting or relaxing the state of emergency in city corporation areas where polls to the corporations are scheduled to be held in April, on countrywide lifting of the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’, and on fixing a timetable for holding dialogues with political parties, sources in the interim administration said.

The Election Commission (EC) is preparing to send its finalised electoral reform proposals to the government for making those into laws, and is getting ready to announce this month the schedules for holding polls to four city corporations.

The council of advisers is likely to discuss the issues at any of its three meetings to be held within a week, prior to chief adviser’s departure for Senegal on March 10, sources said.

Under the circumstances, political analysts believe, if the government allows resumption of political activities countrywide, the move will largely clear the uncertainty regarding holding of the parliamentary poll according to the electoral roadmap announced by the EC.

The chief adviser at a meeting with the EC on February 4 assured the commission of taking necessary steps to lift the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide and of creating an atmosphere for holding polls to city corporations according to the requirements placed by the EC.

The EC set the end of March as the deadline for lifting the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide, and early March as the deadline for deciding on whether the state of emergency will be relaxed or lifted for holding the polls to local governments.

In response to EC’s demands, the caretaker government is going to decide this month whether to relax or lift the state of emergency in city corporation areas where polls to the corporations are scheduled to be held in April.

It will also discuss the EC’s demand for lifting the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide allowing resumption of political activities to facilitate political party reform.

Law Adviser Hassan Ariff on last Thursday said some sections of the Emergency Power Rules, that bar electioneering, will be nullified in March as the EC decided to announce a timetable this month for elections to city corporations.

Sources in the interim government said the council of advisers might discuss within a week, before the chief adviser leaves town for Senegal on March 10, lifting of the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide, and lifting or relaxing of the state of emergency.

The council of advisers are scheduled to meet today in the capital and in Barisal on March 6, sources said. As the chief adviser is scheduled to stay abroad for over a week, the council is also scheduled to meet for the third time on Saturday, prior to his departure, the sources added.

Once the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ are lifted countrywide, political parties will be able to resume their activities, after a year of hiatus, to discuss proposals for party and electoral reforms. The government slapped a ban on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide on March 7 of last year.

Besides, the government is likely to begin its dialogues with political parties by the end of this month or in early April, as the EC already completed its second round of electoral reform talks with all the invited parties except with BNP, with which also the commission hopes to have its talk soon.

The dialoguer parties also have already started holding inter-party talks to figure out common strategies on some issues before sitting in dialogues with the military backed caretaker government, which had declared the state of emergency over a year ago postponing holding of the ninth parliamentary election.

The EC is scheduled to send its finalised electoral reform proposals, for amending electoral laws, to the government this month, with recommendations regarding some crucial national issues including trials of war criminals, article 70 of the national constitution, increasing the number of parliamentary seats, etc.

Once the EC’s proposals are made into laws, the political parties will have to be registered with the commission by June to be eligible to contest in the next parliamentary election, as the EC proposed to make the registration mandatory for parliamentary parties.

To be registered with the commission, all political parties will have to hold their national councils electing new committees, and must bring amendments to their constitutions in line with the EC’s proposed criteria for registration.

But the political parties already said it is not possible for them to hold their national councils without resuming political activities countrywide, which is currently banned under the state of emergency, and under the restrictions on ‘indoor politics’ countrywide with an exception in the capital.

The EC is also to begin the final round of field level work of voter listing this month with a confident hope of completing the job by mid-July, since it already succeeded in registering four crore voters three weeks ahead of schedule, which is about a half of the estimated number of voters to be registered.

Meanwhile, Sector Commanders’ Forum, a platform of sector commanders in the liberation war of 1971, is scheduled to organise a citizens’ convention on March 15, in an effort to put pressure on the government to begin a process for trying war criminals.

“After the convention, we will hold dialogues with political parties to pressure them in taking clear positions against war criminals and anti-liberation forces,” Air Vice-marshal (retd) AK Khandaker, leader of the forum, said yesterday.

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