ALL political parties want a road map for the next general election, regardless of their disagreement over the precise date. All the parties at a meeting of the national consensus commission have demanded an election road map. The chief adviser has stood his ground that the election will be held between this December and June 2026 after reforms for a democratic transition. While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has suggested that the government should not take more than a month to complete essential reforms and hold the election no later than this December, Jamaat-e-Islami wanted the election by June 2026. The National Citizen Party has also asked for a road map. The Ganasamhati Andolan has asked the government to explain its reluctance in announcing the roadmap. The interim government should recognise that talks of reforms in ambiguous terms make the political future uncertain.
Reforms are required to make amends for the injustice that the Awami League government committed. The initiatives for reforms that the government has taken and the pace at which the issues progress have, however, almost fallen through. In this political impasse, while the administration delays the election process, some right-wing parties and organisations are emerging, risking the prospect of the reforms that the government considered significant for the democratic transition. The government should realise that so many people have laid down their lives in July 2024 not to throw the country into further political uncertainty. It would be mistaken to delay the election in the name of reform, largely stalled because of a lack of consensus among political parties. The government should consider announcing a roadmap for the election, leaving important reforms to an elected government. If the elected government remains reluctant, the people and the opposition parties could then press for the reforms.
The interim government should, therefore, announce the roadmap to election, avoid further confrontation and work towards a consensus for the ways of a democratic transition.
