Political impasse

Machiavelli emphasised that the main duty of every prince is to protect himself from being hated and despised. He knew that a good leader must always appear to be good. In times of conflict, the leader must appear tough but generous. If this is true to royalty, it is even more so in a liberal democracy. Liberal democracy is predicated on the idea of public participation in politics. And to achieve public participation, leaders must know how to connect with popular aspirations. In a democracy, the leaders must constantly seek to communicate with the public and when the line of communication between the public and the leader is broken, the whole democratic structure is in the danger of collapsing.

Democracy was invented by the ancient Greeks who believed that free citizens must have the final say in all decisions affecting their lives. They wanted to prevent the rise of tyrants and to ensure that aristocrats by virtue of their birth didn't rule them. So they developed a system where all free male citizens (slaves and women were excluded) were allowed to participate in the debates about issues relating to government.

But the Athenians soon found out that most ordinary citizens didn't have the time and energy to participate in political deliberations. So they installed a Committee of Hundred -- hundred individuals chosen through lottery -- to represent ordinary people. But in course of time, the Committee of Hundred developed a vested interest in retaining their hold on power and used bribes and other unsavoury means to retain the memberships. Corruptions became endemic and ultimately, oligarchs overthrew democracy and tyranny returned.

When democracy was resurrected by the British many centuries later, it was formalised in a representative form based on election. Although initially only property-holding men (all women and landless poor were excluded) were allowed to vote, parliamentary democracy evolved into full electoral participation of all citizens. But the problem of corruption and fraud, that bedevilled the Greek democracy, surfaced in more elaborate forms. Voters are now dependent on the authorities for the conduct of free and fair elections and the governments can misuse its hold on power to rig elections in its favour. Even in the United States, which is called the world's greatest democracy, voting fraud has been widespread since its inception. In the presidential election of 2000, partisan Republican electoral officials were responsible for many African-American voters in Florida losing their voting right because they supported the Democratic candidate. As a result, President George W. Bush won a highly controversial election through the intervention of partisan Supreme Court judges. Voting fraud in the United States is partly the result of a partisan Election Commission. With partisan Republican officials in Florida controlling the state Election Commission, it is not surprising that there would be so many voting irregularities.

Bangladesh seemed to be on the verge of a civil war on the issue of a partisan and biased Election Commission. The opposition AL fears that the partisan Election Commission set up by the BNP will rig the election in favour of the BNP. But this should not be used to foment civil strife and violence. As for conducting a "free and fair" election, a citizens' committee composed of prominent and respected citizens should be set up to supervise the election. The United Nations should also send electoral officials who will scrutinise the ballots and the voter list. Mr. Brahimi, Algerian diplomat who as UN official supervised the first democratic election in Afghanistan, can be invited to oversee the election in Bangladesh. Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus should be requested to oversee the election. The strikes and protests should be called off, allowing the people to carry on their normal activities. The political unrest in Bangladesh will affect even the most affluent class, not to speak of the poor. Political leaders in Bangladesh may do well to remember the dictum of Machiavelli that they must appear to be good even during the time of crisis and conflict and must not be despised by the people.

Otherwise, oligarchy and autocratic rule will return.