More than 69 per cent of respondents expect the elected government to succeed in controlling inflation. I do not think that expectation is unrealistic. In the past year and a half, there has been little improvement in domestic or foreign investment and in trade.

One of the main reasons is that when political instability and uncertainty prevail, business and investment do not grow. So people are hoping that the situation will stabilise after the election. Similarly, there is an expectation that employment opportunities will increase.

About 69 per cent of respondents think the elected government will ensure a safer environment for women to move freely—this too is not unreasonable. The lack of security has always existed, but after the July mass uprising, this insecurity has increased significantly. There are many reasons behind this. In particular, the groups that now consider themselves victorious in the movement, where the influence of religion-based politics is prominent, have contributed to this. Many believe that the party expected to come to power—assumed to be the BNP—will not take as strong a religion-based stance.

The reaction of a certain group to the recommendations of the Commission on Women’s Reform was outrageous. The state completely failed to take a stand against this. It was a very disappointing experience. At a time when the government needed to send a strong signal about its position on women’s rights, it failed. The forces that have grown stronger, and consider themselves victorious, now believe ideologically that “this is our time.” Therefore, I cannot suddenly become optimistic. Those who are optimistic assume that if the BNP comes to power, at least the situation for women will not worsen. Ideologically, the BNP has typically been centre-of-the-road.