By P.K.Balachandran/Ceylon Today
Colombo, January 15: Bangladesh’s controversial Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina swept the January 7 parliamentary polls winning 222 out of the 300 seats up for grabs. Sixty two seats went to “Independents” many of whom were actually members of Hasina’s Awami League(AL) made to contest because the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was boycotting the elections.
The BNP had demanded that the AL government should quit office prior to the elections, hand over power to a non-political Caretaker Administration, which would hold a free and fair election.
But Hasina did not oblige because the Caretaker system was abolished by a constitutional amendment way back in 2011 because the “neutral” Caretakers proved to be not quite neutral.
The BNP stuck to its decision to boycott even though other democracies have held elections perfectly well without “neutral” Caretaker system. Liberals in Bangladesh and in the West sided with the BNP on this issue endorsing its claim that Hasina is undemocratic.
Virtually no one said that by giving a call to boycott the BNP was not allowing the democratic system to function. The BNP was not giving the voters a chance to elect alternatives to the AL.
As expected, the US, which has been the most anti-Hasina among the international players, termed the opposition-less election “not free or fair.” The UK noted that the standards of democratic elections “were not consistently met during the election period.”
They condemned the political violence that took place during election and in the months leading to it. The US urged all political parties to reject violence. The UK emphasised the need for creating conditions “for a sustainable political settlement and vibrant civil society” for long-term growth.
The UN too has been quite critical of Bangladesh’s human rights record. It has castigated the government for “repression of opposition candidates and supporters.” Drawing attention to the thousands of opposition supporters who were “detained arbitrarily or subjected to intimidation” in the run up to the elections, the UN called on the newly elected government to take steps to renew the country’s commitment to democracy and human rights.
The UN insists on the government’s conducting a thorough and effective investigation of rights violations and irregularities during the campaign and on election day itself, including the use of mass arrests, threats, enforced disappearances, blackmailing and surveillance by law enforcement officials—many of which were highlighted in media reports.
But reconciling themselves to the compulsion of working with a government headed by Hasina, the Western nations also talked about moving forward and developing better and deeper ties with Bangladesh.
Hasina has been none the worse for ignoring Western criticism of her style of functioning. Her tough as nails government got results. She curbed terrorism and big time drug peddling.
Be that as it may, Sheikh Hasina is aware that her rule had serious lacunae and this was evident in her pro-poll TV address. She said: “If I’ve made any mistakes along the way, my request to you will be to look at the matter with the eyes of forgiveness.”
“If I can form the government again, I will get a chance to correct the mistakes. Give me an opportunity to serve you by voting for the ‘Boat’,” she added. The Boat is the Awami League’s election symbol.
Hasina’s Strengths
Sheikh Hasina has been in power for three consecutive terms from 2009 to 2023. During this period, her government kept the nation steadily moving forward on the path of all-round and rapid development.
Describing the overall development of the country in the last 15 years in her pre-election TV address, Hasina said that growth was 7.25%; per capita income increased five times; budget size increased 12 times and the Annual Development Program (ADP) increased 13 times; GDP size increased 12 times’; foreign exchange reserves increased 36 times; export earnings increased 5 times; annual remittance increased 6 times; foreign investment increased 5 times; wages of workers increased 9 times’; foreign exchange reserves increased 36 times while export earnings increased 5 times.
She also mentioned that the poverty rate came down from 41.51% to 18.7%, and drinking water coverage increased from 55% to 98.8%. Sanitary latrines increased from 43.28% to 97.32%, while infant mortality decreased from 84 per thousand to 21 per thousand. Maternal mortality decreased from 360 per 100,000 to 156 per 100,000. The average human lifespan had risen to 72.8 years.
Hasina said that power generation capacity increased 8 times in the last 15 years while the electricity consumption rate increased from 28% to 100%; the literacy rate increased to 76.8%, while enhancement of technical education increased 22 times.
Grain production increased four times. In 2009, Bangladesh’s GDP was only US$ 102 billion, but in 2023 it had increased to US$ 450 billion.
“We have built Padma Bridge with our own funding. We launched metro rail in Dhaka, constructed elevated expressways, and inaugurated subway construction. We set up the country’s first nuclear power plant at Rooppur and constructed South Asia’s first underground road ‘Bangabandhu Tunnel’ in Chittagong,” Hasina said.
World Bank Hopeful
The World Bank is sanguine about Bangladesh’s economic prospects. In its report dated October 4, 2023, the Bank says: “Bangladesh has a strong track record of growth and development, even in times of elevated global uncertainty. A robust demographic dividend, strong ready-made garment (RMG) exports, resilient remittance inflows, and stable macroeconomic conditions have supported rapid economic growth over the past two decades.”
“Bangladesh tells a remarkable story of poverty reduction and development. From being one of the poorest nations at birth in 1971, Bangladesh reached lower-middle income status in 2015. It is on track to graduate from the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDC) list in 2026.”
“Poverty declined from 11.8 percent in 2010 to 5.0 percent in 2022, based on the international poverty line of $2.15 a day (using 2017 Purchasing Power Parity exchange rate). Moreover, human development outcomes improved along many dimensions.”
Challenges
But there are significant challenges, the Bank pointed out.
Inequality has widened in urban areas. There is inflationary pressure, energy shortages, a balance-of-payments deficit, and a revenue shortfall. While the trade deficit narrowed in FY23, there has been a decline in foreign exchange reserves.
“Real GDP growth is expected to slow in FY24 as ongoing import suppression measures disrupt economic activity. Growth is expected to re-accelerate over the medium term, as inflationary pressure eases, external conditions improve, and reform implementation gains momentum.”
Commenting on the current situation and Bangladesh’s prospects, researcher and political commentator Afsan Chowdhury said: “Hasina has created avenues both for the high and the low to make money. Bangladesh is a peasant society essentially bothered about livelihood and not ideology or politics. People would tolerate any system so long as it meets their basic livelihood needs. And Sheikh Hasina has ensured livelihoods through economic development. Nobody can say there is no economic development.”
Except for a section in the urban areas, most of the population is of peasant stock. Among the latter, notions of democracy, freedom, and equality are not highly developed or considered very pertinent. They do realise that there is endemic corruption, but their concern is how to get round it and get on with their lives and not stand up and fight against it.
If asked for an opinion, the common man will give vent to his trials and tribulations but he will not fight to exercise his rights. If this time only 40% voted, it was not because that the people were alienated from the system. It was because there was no point in voting, as in the absence of the BNP, it was going to be a one-horse race, and the winner would be none other than Hasina, Choudhury said.
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