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A crisis in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's authoritarianism and reactionary manoeuvring in the face of a tide of popular discontent has created a dangerous stalemate in Bangladesh. Her tenure having run out on Friday night, she should have given up all thought of fresh skulduggery and made way for a fair, constitutionally designated arrangement. Yet, with the political winds strongly favouring the Opposition Awami League-led alliance headed by Sheikh Hasina, she has in desperation resorted to undemocratic scheming. Getting the titular President of Bangladesh, Iajuddin Ahmed, to declare himself the head of the caretaker administration in the run-up to national elections in January is an unconstitutional and inflammatory act. The result is a crisis of major proportions with large-scale violence on the streets that might open up the possibility of the military trying to muscle its way in. Fundamentalist Islamist forces may also seek to capitalise on the chaos. The immediate past Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, K.M. Hasan, who was lined up to take over as head of the caretaker administration, declined the post. President Ahmed should then have asked Ms. Zia to hand over power to the person who is second in line — as mandated by the Constitution — for the post: the previous Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Mahmudul Ameen Chowdhury, who is relatively well regarded. Mr. Hasan should be commended for opting out of the fray. He either read the popular mood correctly or realised that, as a founding member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, he was unfit to act as neutral overseer of the election process. The impartiality of the Election Commission is also very much in doubt. Its head, the retired judge, M.A. Aziz, is a BNP partisan; and whatever credibility the Commission had was undermined by its defiance of a High Court directive against recasting the voters' list.

The violence of the past few days between supporters of the two main political parties holds grave portents. Defusing this situation was entirely in the hands of the BNP. Yet, it chose to exacerbate the crisis by manoeuvring to get Mr. Ahmed, who was a candidate for the party in a previous election, into the caretaker's seat. Still, the Awami League needs to keep a cool head and avoid adventurism while keeping its powder dry. The Hasina-led alliance's threat to paralyse the country stemmed from a difficult situation in which the chances of negotiating a reasonable end to the political crisis seemed ruled out. Fraudulent or bloody elections will endanger the democratic process by opening a window of opportunity for extra-constitutional players. India, which was fully involved in the creation of the nation 35 years ago, has a big stake in Bangladesh returning to a democratic and secular course. Sheikh Hasina's strongly indicated sweep of the elections, assuming they will be free and fair, will be a most congenial outcome from New Delhi's standpoint.

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