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Vote reflects an urge for change

— Photo: AFP

Impressive comeback: Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister and Awami League chief, Sheikh Hasina Wajed (right) meets supporters in Dhaka on Tuesday.

DHAKA: The Bangladesh parliamentary election results on Tuesday clearly indicate that the voters, especially the young and first-time voters, were hungry for change that the BNP-led alliance was simply incapable of delivering.

The four-party alliance offered few new ideas to the voters and appeared to have learnt nothing from its two years on the sidelines during which many of its senior leaders were incarcerated on corruption charges. Its defeat can be seen as a verdict against the unprecedented corruption and tyranny that marked its five-year rule.

While in power, the alliance failed to address vital issues, including soaring prices of essential commodities and power generation, instead focusing on consolidating all power in its hands and misusing the same for personal and political gain.

Analysts said the alliance candidates, and in particular BNP chief and ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, paid scant attention to the needs and aspirations of the voters. Ms. Khaleda repeatedly invoked Islam, requesting power to “save Islam” and “save the country”. It is believed that this kind of negativity and cynicism is what has been punished by the voters.

The near wipe-out of Jamaat in its worst election showing since independence also lends credence to the notion that the voters, though religious, have rejected the misuse of religion for political purposes.

There is much conjecture that the victory of the grand alliance was the outcome of participation of the first-time voters, who turned out in record numbers, and women, who outnumbered men.

A record number of voters — 85 per cent — exercised their franchise. Held under tight security, the polls saw none of the deadly unrest that forced the January 22, 2007 vote to be cancelled and an army-backed caretaker government to take control. Impersonation was almost absent.

Despite allegations by the BNP of irregularities in some constituencies, Monday’s voting appears to have been largely peaceful and generally free.

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