8 EDITORIAL

DHAKA TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2023

AGRAHAYAN 6, 1430 BS

FOUNDER EDITOR: LATE S. M. ALI

We are heading towards
Remove barriers to another one-sided election
investment flow Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar
is secretary of SHUJAN: Citizens
for Good Governance.
arrests, even though under Article
126, the executive authorities are to
Appointment Act, 2022 mandates
the Search Committee to search
assist the Election Commission in for qualified candidates from the
Increased private, foreign discharging its functions. nominations made specifically by
Thirdly, without the participation of
investments key to our BNP and other major political parties,
political parties and professional
bodies for appointment to the EC.
economic recovery BADIUL ALAM MAJUMDAR
the legitimacy crisis of the present
regime will persist. As we are aware, in
However, the Search Committee
2014, there was a one-sided election, in formed on February 5, 2022, allowed
The steady development journey that Bangladesh has been
on for more than a decade smoothed the path for the country which 153 MPs were “elected” without individuals to nominate names,
On November 15, Chief Election the environment for holding a free
to become a developing nation by 2026. This progress has the voters casting a single vote. The including their own, in violation of the
Commissioner (CEC) Habibul Awal and fair election. On October 25,
come on the back of a consistent investment flow to different declared the schedule for the 12th 2018 election, although participatory, law. As a result, the Awal commission
the CEC himself acknowledged that
sectors, among other things. Unfortunately, Bangladesh has parliamentary election, to be held on the appropriate environment for an was fraudulent, manifested by stuffing was appointed based on nominations
been struggling to expand its volume of private and foreign January 7, 2024. As scores of cases election was absent. Then the violence of ballot boxes the night before. A TIB of individuals who were not legally
direct investment (FDI), a fact that has been again highlighted have been filed since October 28 and of October 28 occurred, leading to the study found electoral irregularities, like authorised to nominate. For example,
by the apex body of foreign investors in the country. most of the BNP leaders are now either stamping ballot papers the night before
police filing many cases, implicating late Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury publicly
The Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry in jail or hiding, it is almost certain that and ballot box stuffing by capturing
thousands of BNP activists and announced that he nominated Awal for
(Ficci), which represents more than 200 investors, unveiled a the coming election will again be one- booths on election day, in 47 out of 50
arresting almost all its leaders, which the position of CEC, although he was
book on Sunday that underscores how our existing tax system sided. The situation at the moment is completely tilted the playing field constituencies surveyed. An analysis
creates an unfavourable investment environment. According fraught with serious concerns. not legally eligible to do so. Thus, the
to Ficci, our tax system is not aligned with the global standards; in favour of the ruling party. In this of the centre-wise election results
The first concern is that a one-sided declaration of the Awal commission is
in fact, our tax policies, although designed to support growth, situation, most, if not all, potential obtained from the EC through an RTI
election, without the participation of BNP candidates will not be able to file application by SHUJAN found that 100 bound to have questionable legality.
are riddled with contradictory regulations, lack of clarity, the main opposition and other major To conclude, the upcoming one-
ineffective tax incentives, lack of ease in resolving tax disputes, nomination papers by November 30, percent votes were cast in 213 polling
parties, may not even qualify as an
and a complicated process of claiming tax benefits. Then election from the legal point of view.
there is the inherent problem of corruption and bureaucratic
According to Black’s Law Dictionary—
complications.
used by legal professionals—election
All these work as deterrents against attracting new and
means the exercise of a choice, the act
retaining old investments, including FDI. Over the past six
of choosing from several alternatives. If
months in particular, investment flow has slowed down
there is no choice, there is no election.
enough to raise an alarm among policymakers and the
However, the choice will have to be
business community. The dollar crisis and an unstable
credible, and the people must be free
political environment ahead of the general election are major
challenges for investment growth as well. The overall situation and have fair opportunity to choose
casts a dark shadow on the state of our already struggling through voting. As Mahmudul Islam,
economy. in his book Constitutional Law of
Time and again—especially since our economic growth Bangladesh, argues, our “Constitution
hit a snag, thanks to some global events disrupting world does not envisage anything else than
economy as well as our inability to evolve and recover—experts free and fair election… (Pg 973).”
have pointed out the need for a modernised and reformed tax Let’s use an example to clarify
system. Other developing economies are already ahead of us the issue of choice. The option of
in that regard. They revised their tax frameworks to facilitate drinking a glass of tap water and a
smooth investment flow. Our policymakers must take the hint glass of mineral water does not offer a
and do what needs to be done to boost investors’ confidence. legitimate choice, as a rational person
Ficci has offered 29 recommendations that can be implemented will not “elect” to have the tap water.
over short, medium and long terms to improve our investment The outcome here is predictable and,
environment and expand its scopes; our government can use in a sense, predetermined. However,
those as a guideline. an option between a glass of mineral
Investment, especially FDI, drives economic growth and, by water and a glass of boiled water will
extension, job creation, higher incomes and better standards offer a legitimate choice—as both are
of living. To help our economy to overcome the current crisis, worthy candidates. VISUAL: SALMAN SAKIB SHAHRYAR
boosting investment flow through prudent and timely policy Likewise, in the real-life electoral
changes is vital. We strongly urge the government to recognise arena, if voters are given the freedom
to choose between candidates of even if they decide to participate in the centres under 103 constituencies, and sided election cannot be called an
that, and take prompt actions to get us back on track for
recovery. Awami League and Trinamool BNP, upcoming election. 100 percent votes were cast to a single election in the legal sense, as there
or any other fringe party for that Yet, the EC declared the election symbol in 587 polling centres under would not be any legitimate choice in
matter—not the real BNP—they are schedule, ignoring the tilted electoral 75 constituencies. In addition, BNP absence of BNP’s participation, and
likely to reject Trinamool BNP, as they field, paving the way for a one-sided received zero votes in 1,177 centres, such an election will not help the EC
Will Khadija’s ordeal are not credible alternatives. Thus, if
BNP, the main opposition party, does
election and ensuring the continuation
of the ruling party being in power. The
Jatiya Party received zero votes in
3,388 centres, and even Awami League
meet its constitutional obligation to
hold a free, fair and credible election.
not participate, there will be a sham highly partisan bureaucracy and law received zero votes in two centres,
end with her release? election on January 7. In absence
of a “genuine election”—a term
enforcement agencies will ensure that
outcome. Again, with such an election,
indicating that they were all cooked
up numbers. These two controversial
Since the Awal commission is
appointed in violation of the law, the
schedule it declared is questionable.
used in Article 21(3) of the Universal the Awal commission will not be able elections created a credibility crisis for
The long shadow of DSA Declaration of Human Rights—the to meet its constitutional obligation the ruling party. Thus, the next election will not fulfil
our constitutional commitment to
continues to haunt victims Election Commission (EC) will fail to
meet its constitutional obligation to
to hold a free and fair election under
Article 119(1)(b) of our constitution.
The fourth concern is about the
Awal commission itself. Section 4(1) a democratic Bangladesh; rather it
hold a free, fair and credible election. Incidentally, it is surprising that the of The Chief Election Commissioner will lead us, as a nation, to uncharted
We are relieved to know that, after an excruciatingly long
wait, Jagannath University student Khadijatul Kubra has been The second concern relates to EC is totally mum about the cases and and Other Election Commissioner waters.
finally granted permanent bail and released from jail. Khadija
was arrested on August 27 last year, after police pressed
charges against her in two cases under the Digital Security Act
(DSA) in October 2020. Her “crime” was that she had hosted
a Facebook webinar where a guest speaker apparently made
“contentious” remarks. It should be noted that during her
Cricket almost came full circle, but
14-month imprisonment, several of her bail pleas were rejected.
While we welcome her long-overdue release, we must ask:
what was Khadija’s fault in the first place? Who will answer for
framing an underage girl—Khadija was 17 when she was sued—
Australia had something to say
in a DSA case? Should a person be detained or jailed for merely
holding a webinar? These are vital questions that need to be Azmin Azran become an issue, India had already the commercial side of the game and
answered. Khadija has been granted bail for now, but the cases is a journalist at The Daily Star. done enough to put themselves in the the control of the administrative
filed against her remain in place. That means she still has to best position to win the semi-final power within cricket had already been
continue her legal battle, if from outside jail, which may be no and final of this world cup. A winning won. It was up to the team now to
less agonising going forward. habit leads to more winning, and India deliver on the stage that had been laid
Unfortunately, ever since the DSA came into being in 2018, had convincingly won every game they for them, in a purpose-built stadium
a lot of people including journalists, government critics and played in the tournament. All their in front of 100,000 people. The
human rights activists were harassed by the law. Their “crime,” batters were in form, their bowling was perfect opposition was put in front of
too, was expressing their opinion. Recently, the government AZMIN AZRAN firing on all cylinders, and the fielding them: the same Australians who had
passed the Cyber Security Act (CSA) replacing the DSA, but as had always been sharp. The semi- defeated them in 2003, arguably the
legal experts and journalists have pointed out, beyond some beginning of this long journey.
changes in sentencing, almost all the controversial provisions Patterns are naturally appealing for Ganguly turned into a revolution For a while, India have But as we know by now, things
of the law have been retained in the CSA, meaning that the human beings. For the cricket faithful, under MS Dhoni, and India scaled to have not worked out for India. They
threat to freedom of expression and independent journalism had the habit of being
the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket the top of world cricket. They became failed to perform at the big stage
very much remains. World Cup 2023 was full of promises of world T20 champions, reached the
heavy favourites to
once more, and the story of India’s
After being released from jail, Khadija has said that what self-fulfilling patterns, of long-winded pinnacle of Test rankings, bagged a win every tournament complete domination over cricket is
she faced over 14 months in jail was an injustice and that journeys coming to an end, of cricket’s champion’s trophy, and of course, because of the quality left unfinished. There were talks that
she had committed no crime. This is not only sad but also evolution now that one chapter could a home world cup triumph in 2011. of their players, the the 50-over format itself would come
unacceptable. We urge the higher authorities to withdraw the be closed. We almost got there, but Coupled with the financial success of depth of their squad, to a natural conclusion, if India took
cases filed against her, take steps to address the grievances in a delightful twist in this game of the IPL thereafter, India successfully and the fact that with home the crown, but the competitive
caused, and also repeal this draconian law—whatever name it
glorious uncertainties, it wasn’t quite became the new home of global spirit that defines Australian sports
carries—for good.
how everyone had imagined it. cricket. They were the trendsetters, the the backing of the have shone through to make them the
Turn the clock back to 2003, favourites in every game they played, richest board in world ultimate party crashers. Throughout
when Sourav Ganguly’s India found a a juggernaut, a monolith that could cricket, they are this world cup, Australia had been
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR brand of cricket that was starting to
get them regular success. They went
only be overcome in an upset or, as it
turned out, in knockout games.
always well-prepared. weaving together a story of their own
But they lost in the background. They lost their first
letters@thedailystar.net into the world cup final that year as For a while, India have had the habit two games against India and South
clear underdogs. The mountain they of being heavy favourites to win every
knockout games and
Africa, but then went on to beat every
needed to climb to become the best in tournament because of the quality of finals in ICC events other team in the tournament. They
Healthy lifestyle in city designs the world was a belligerent Australia, their players, the depth of their squad, in 2014, 2015, 2016, completed a full circle of their own by
With rapid unplanned urbanisation in Bangladesh, particularly led by Ricky Ponting. In a jam-packed and the fact that with the backing of 2017, 2019, 2021, and beating South Africa in the semifinal
on the outskirts of major cities, maintaining a healthy lifestyle Wanderers Stadium surrounded by the richest board in world cricket, 2022. Heading into and India in the final.
is becoming increasingly challenging. Bangladesh, like many a sea of India supporters, Australia they are always well-prepared. But the home world cup Here’s the thing though. In sports,
other nations, is facing a growing risk of obesity. However, in proved why they were a cut above the they lost knockout games and finals narratives are everything. A group
urban areas, roads are not suitable for walking. Furthermore, Indians, not hesitating to break hearts in ICC events in 2014, 2015, 2016, this year, this was the of men playing a silly game on a field
unplanned towns and suburbs lack parks or open spaces. This in a thrashing that many Indian fans, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Heading challenge. only starts to matter when we attach
issue affects everyone: from children who are deprived of space to this day, are traumatised by. into the home world cup this year, weighty narratives to them. The Indian
to play, to the elderly who are unable to engage in essential Twenty years on, Australia and India this was the challenge. India would final saw them falter a bit, but India team’s narrative is the one that has
physical activities. I urge the authorities to take this concern faced off in yet another final, but a lot be the best prepared, most powerful outclassed New Zealand the same way been amplified across our screens over
seriously and do what’s needed to promote healthy lifestyle in had changed. Australia had won two team on paper, but this time they they had outclassed everyone else, the last month, or maybe even the
urban planning. more world cups in between, India had were supposed to break the curse of and a final awaited them. Win this, last couple of years. But other teams
taken one trophy as well, but the tides knockout games, and they would take and India could draw a line under a play this game too. All Australia did
Zakaria Rahman of cricket had turned. The change in every step necessary to ensure that. sustained period of domination in was remind India that for once, not
Narayanganj Indian cricket that started with Sourav Before pitch preparation could even world cricket. The battle off the field, everything is about them.

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