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Rohana Hettiarachchie, Executive Director of People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), has described Bangladesh's recent national elections as "historic and landmark", while also calling for stronger inclusion and reconciliation efforts in the country's political landscape.
Speaking exclusively to ANI, he praised the overall conduct of the polls, noting improvements over previous elections. "In general, our overall assessment is that this is a historic and landmark election in Bangladesh. Because, looking at past elections and how they were conducted, and how inclusive they were, we are talking about recent past elections. And when we talk about the Awami League, we have to consider the political environment and the contest," Hettiarachchie said. While appreciating the electoral process, he emphasised the need for transitional justice and reconciliation moving forward. "Of course, we acknowledge the fact that there should be a transitional justice and reconciliation process for future elections. The politicians and political parties that are willing to take part in the elections should have the opportunity. I think it is one of the key responsibilities of the new government to start the reconciliation process and establish a transitional justice mechanism to get them involved in the Bangladesh elections," he noted. Hettiarachchie also commended the role of the election management authorities. "We need to highlight and appreciate the election management body in Bangladesh's recent electoral history. They have done a remarkable job. I think the elections were peaceful, comparatively peaceful, and orderly," he stated. He added that the polls were, to a certain extent, inclusive and credible, but noted persistent challenges. "To a certain extent, it was inclusive and credible. I think this is always an issue here and in many other countries as well. There are different types of marginalised sectors here," he said. Focusing on political participation, he raised concerns about women's representation. "When it comes to political participation, women are more marginalised. As an outcome, we have only 4% of members of parliament now. There are a lot of barriers for women to engage in politics -- cultural barriers, financial barriers, and legal barriers," he explained. "And legal barriers, in the sense that political parties are not giving them a proper chance to contest. And also the youth -- youth are a very, very important category here. But unfortunately, youth were also marginalised in this election. Even though voter participation from the youth perspective has been given space, political participation is very low," he added. Highlighting representation gaps, Hettiarachchie said, "I think out of the 300 seats, only eight young people got elected. And then there are also religiously marginalised groups. So there are many marginalised groups that we need to seriously consider -- how we are going to bring them into mainstream politics and how we are going to give them a chance to engage with mainstream politics." Looking ahead, Hettiarachchie underscored the responsibility of the incoming administration. "That is a matter for the future government. As I said earlier, the mandate is clear, the party is very clear, and the roadmap is clear. So the new government has to start immediately with the July Charter. I think they have given a time frame as well," he said. Calling inclusivity an "unconditional responsibility" of the ruling party, he concluded, "If a political party goes with policies representing the entire community, it cannot be divided into women or men or youth or marginalised groups. Political parties are for the country, representing the entire community. There should be equal opportunity for all citizens. Different sectors of citizens have to be included in politics. If they are really willing to run the country, it should be an inclusive process." (ANI)
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