THE national elections are over. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has won a two-thirds majority, is now set to form the government soon. Now is the time for the political party to decide a few issues. There should be a balance between excitement and experience in the cabinet. It should have young faces and grey hairs to ensure new thinking and the stability of the experienced. The cabinet should, in a way, also make up for the missing percentage of minority people and women, which is glaringly evident in the elected members of parliament in the national elections. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party would need to employ its supermajority to meaningfully govern the country in a proactive manner and not fall into the pitfalls of the arrogance of power that such a decisive majority entails. After a decade and a half of the authoritarian regime of the Awami League, which left state governance topsy-turvy, and an interim administration for more than a year and a half, which has initiated some reforms but has broadly failed to attend to a number of issues, the new government will need to spend its energy on a horde of tasks.
The new government should empower the institutions of accountability such as the Anti-Corruption Commission to effectively fight corruption that has been all-pervasive and to streamline governance. It should ensure the independence of the judiciary, the cornerstone of a democratic society, which is essential for upholding the rule of law and ensuring impartial justice. The interim administration had mainly been busy reforming state governance. Whilst some reforms have already been effected or initiated, some have been left to the next elected government. Besides, the interim administration has largely dealt with six reform commissions that it set up on October 3, 2024. But it has appeared unwilling to deal with the five commissions that it set up on November 18 that year. The five commissions dealt with reforms in the health sector, local government, labour issues, women’s affairs and the media. The interim administration has also appeared unwilling to streamline the education sector although experts and the media repeatedly sought a reform commission on the sector. Many of the recommendations of the five commissions could easily be initiated and effected without having to amend constitutional provisions. The political government should put its accent on the health and the education sector as much as it needs to ensure the freedom of expression and a free press, which are the fundamental pillars of a functioning democracy, accountability, transparency and the protection of human rights.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, after it forms the government, is expected not to indulge in the politics of vengeance and vindictiveness.
