Stating that a democratic system established through a national election is essential for reforms, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said it is not possible to run the country by hiring a few people from home and abroad.
“Can a country be run by hiring a few people from home and abroad? No, it cannot. This simple fact we need to understand," he said.
Speaking at a discussion, he also criticised those who think reforms can happen overnight or just through a few meetings. “Reform must be carried out through a process. It is a continuous process.”
The BNP leader said if the government thinks the police will stop taking bribes from tomorrow just because it wants them to, it will not happen. “You have to build a structure where bribery is discouraged.”
Zia Parishad organised the programme titled 'July Uprising: Expectation and Achievement at the Jatiya Press Club,' marking the first anniversary of last year’s mass uprising that led to the fall of what he described as the fascist rule of Sheikh Hasina.
Fakhrul also blamed the existing bureaucracy for holding back the country’s development.
“Our bureaucracy is a major obstacle to development. It is a negative bureaucracy and must be turned into a positive one. To do that, we mainly need to involve the people in the process,” he said.
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The BNP leader said political parties should focus on returning to the people, learning about their needs and reflecting those needs in running the country.
Referring to the criticism BNP faces for demanding elections, Fakhrul said, “As soon as we started talking about the election, they began saying BNP only wants polls. But has anyone thought about why we want the election?”
Without elections, he said true public representatives cannot be chosen. “And without representatives, how can they go to Parliament? And if there is no elected Parliament, how can people’s rule be established?”
Speaking on the topic of the PR or proportional representation election system, the BNP Secretary General said some political parties have started talking about it in different ways. “But this has no connection with Bangladesh. They are loudly calling for elections under the PR system. But what is a proportional election? The general public simply doesn’t understand it,” he said.
Fakhrul mentioned that there is currently a kind of confusion in the country regarding the PR system, as some parties are strongly promoting it and speaking in favour of it.
“But our people are used to a different process. They know that a political party nominates a candidate, and on the election day, they go and vote for that candidate — whether the symbol is a Sheaf of Paddy, a Scale, or a Hand Fan. That’s the system they know. Now, all of a sudden, some people are saying elections should be held under a proportional system,” the BNP leader said.
He said the concept of proportional representation is unfamiliar to most people in the country. “If you ask ordinary people, they won’t be able to explain what it means.”
Narrating how the system works, the BNP leader said under the PR system, people would vote for parties, and then the party that gets the most votes would nominate members to go to parliament.
He said this system would not allow people to choose a leader from their own area -- someone who can represent them and solve their local problems.
For this reason, Fakhrul said, BNP does not support the idea of holding proportional representation elections for the lower house of parliament.
He said the whole nation is now passing through a very critical time. “We are waiting and looking for a way to move towards democracy. Bangladesh is facing a serious crisis. We are in a political vacuum and dealing with a tough economic situation. We must come out of this and build a political and economic system that will benefit the people of Bangladesh.”
The BNP leader said Awami League is a fascist force, and the damage it has done to the country will not be easy to fix. “They have destroyed all the institutions —not only the judiciary, administration, health sector and universities, but also the political parties.”
Fakhrul expressed his regret over some reports in newspapers about the wrongdoings of BNP leaders and activists.
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He stressed that honesty must come first for BNP’s leaders and workers as it is a party founded by Ziaur Rahman. “Without honesty, BNP will not be able to stand before the people.”
He bemoaned that many types of reports are being published in the media that do not match the values of BNP or the ideals of Ziaur Rahman. “So, those who are in BNP politics must follow Ziaur Rahman and must all be honest.”