Country facing a third election with clearly predictable outcome

 Bangladesh is facing the possibility of a third election in which the basic preconditions for a competitive and inclusive election are not really going to be fulfilled, eminent economist Professor Rehman Sobhan said yesterday."Now, needless to say, the reasons which have never been entirely made clear we chose to do away with the system of caretaker governments," he said at a book launch at the capital's Bangla Academy.

"And the outcome, of course, has been visible enough. We had two elections, whose credibility has certainly been questioned, not just here, but internationally. And we are now facing the possibility of an election again, whose outcome is very clearly predictable.

"Obviously, the major opposition party is incarcerated or is in a fugitive condition. And the only contestants are going to be people from the ruling gharana, or people who are uncertain about their political identity, and what you may see a genus-like face where it's one side of your face, you are the opposition, and the other, you are the election partner, where you solicit for being gifted seats to contest the election. No one can take that sort of political party very seriously.

The books unveiled at the event were Ekattorer Dinponji: Muktijuddher Dainik Ghotonalipi edited by Sajjad Sharif and Muktijuddhe Shahid Buddhijibi: Smriti Jibon Juddho edited by Anisul Hoque.

As the featured speaker at the event organised by Prothom Alo, Prof Sobhan delivered a speech titled Obyahata Muktijuddho which translates as Continued Liberation War.

"We should keep in mind that the liberation struggle itself originated in the attempt to build a democratic society in the denial of democracy, which was a singular element in the creation and perpetuation of economic disparities, and the political injustice, because in order to create that unequal society, it could only be done through a process of denial of democracy," he said.