The dismal prospect for reforms in areas such as governance, elections, administration and power structures, largely because of increasingly polarised positions of political parties, is disheartening. It is understandable that the political parties will not have similar stance on the issues, but drastically polarised stances of the parties disregard the hopes and aspirations that have emerged in society after the July-August uprising. The national consensus commission, meant to deliberate on reforms commissions鈥� recommendations, appears to be struggling to reach a consensus on almost every major issue. The second round of the dialogue with political parties was adjourned until July 2 without any significant progress. The first round, where 166 points were discussed, also yielded little. After the first round, the commission has revised many of its proposals and reduced the number of issues in an attempt to bridge differences. Yet, the parties鈥� polarised positions have persisted. The commission has replaced its earlier proposal for a national constitutional council with a plan for a constitutional and statutory appointment committee tasked to transparently appoint top officials of constitutional and statutory bodies. But the parties have failed to agree.
The second round has also covered revised proposals on the electoral framework for a bicameral parliament, women鈥檚 representation, the prime minister鈥檚 term, parliamentary standing committee structure, the presidential election and Article 70 of the constitution, among others. A consensus has, however, remained largely elusive as several parties, especially the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have opposed various provisions. A number of political parties and analysts have, meanwhile, blamed the BNP, presumably the largest political party, for rejecting most of the revised proposals, which are widely considered urgent for reforming governance and preventing power concentration. The BNP鈥檚 stance is particularly troubling as it runs counter to the hopes and aspirations that the uprising, which toppled the Awami League regime, has created. The BNP also appears inexplicably wedded to its pre-uprising 31-point structural reforms outline, unveiled in July 2023, despite many of the commission鈥檚 proposals aligning with its own reforms agenda. Its rejection of similar proposals, thus, appears contradictory. At the same time, the party, in demanding early national elections, has failed to rein in its leaders and activists, many of whom continue to make the headlines for criminal activities.
Since independence, Bangladesh has witnessed only a few rare moments when political parties appeared poised to reach a consensus on creating transparent and accountable governance. But once in power, the parties have consistently failed to deliver. The uprising has created the most promising moment for meaningful changes in decades. Political parties must not let this opportunity slip away.
