I haven't seen any victory

BNP supporters are saying that through the meeting with the Chief Adviser and the joint statement, BNP has achieved a victory.

But brother, I don’t see any victory.

Yes, the election date in April was an absurd decision -- if it could be held in February before Ramadan, it would be convenient for the people, candidates, and party workers. The election would be smoother. How can anyone campaign during the day in the intense heat of Ramadan? Because after dusk, it’s time for Iftar and Taraweeh!

However, there’s a caveat with the February election -- it’s “subject to reforms.” The victory is still hidden in this word “reforms.” If some basic reforms can be implemented, it will be a victory for the country -- and from what I’ve seen of the country’s and BNP’s politics, a victory for the people means a victory for BNP.

I’m a doctor -- I deal with critically ill patients in the hospital, and I’m there with them on their journey to recovery. Pneumonia can strike suddenly -- fever, cough, and breathing difficulties start in just one afternoon. But for these patients to recover, it’s an exhausting process. They stay in the hospital for 5-7 days. They’re sent home with oxygen. When they come back to see me after discharge, they still can’t walk properly. They still need oxygen.

I tell my patients -- falling ill is like taking an elevator down fifty floors in a moment. But there’s no elevator for recovery. You have to climb those fifty floors step by step, with effort and perseverance.

As a state, Bangladesh has fallen into a deep abyss. Climbing out of this abyss is not a one-day job. You have to climb those fifty floors one step at a time.

Everyone wants to heal Bangladesh overnight -- turn it into Sweden! But there’s no shortcut to recovery or nation-building. Our academic and civil society pressure groups have come up with hundreds of reform proposals. A civil society platform has emerged under the leadership of BRAIN and Voice for Reform -- the Citizen’s Coalition. I’m involved with this platform. Under the leadership of Shahidul Alam and Irene Khan, this platform is now the leading voice and pressure group of civil society! They’ve proposed a 7+2 point reform agenda. I’m a signatory to this proposal.

My personal opinion is that if we can achieve just one reform, it’s the reform of the caretaker government system. If we can ensure a neutral, participatory election every five years, all our other problems will gradually be managed. Just think -- if BNP comes to power in 2026 and they constantly have the fear that they’ll face an election in five years under a caretaker government, their workers’ behaviour will undergo a radical change. Maybe not in the first term, but after losing an election and returning to power in the second term.

But how do we ensure this effective caretaker government system? In 2006, BNP created issues over the Chief Justice’s age. And Awami League, like rogues, abolished the caretaker government system altogether.

How do we prevent these potential problems with the caretaker government? What if a government, like Awami League, uses brute majority to amend the constitution and abolish the caretaker system? What if a government manipulates to install their preferred person as the head of the caretaker government? How do we stop these?

It’s possible. We don’t need hundreds of reform points. One reform can solve all problems.

We’re moving toward a bicameral parliament. Let the lower house function as it always has.

But the upper house should have seats allocated based on the proportion of votes received. A party getting 40% of the votes should get 40% of the seats. Independent candidates in the parliament will collectively select the candidates for independent seats.

The upper house’s job will be twofold -- electing the caretaker government with a 67% (two-thirds) vote, amending the constitution, and confirming appointments to constitutional posts like judges, election commissioners, etc.

This is the one reform I want from this interim government! Proportional upper house seats!

And BNP must agree to this reform. It’s in BNP’s interest. We know BNP. It’s not in BNP’s DNA to be fascist.

But we don’t know which party will form the government in 2031. We don’t know if that party will have fascist tendencies like Awami League or religious-fascist tendencies like Jamaat. To protect the constitution from that party, we need to vaccinate the constitution now with proportional upper house seats.

BNP has made significant sacrifices for the country -- it brought back multi-party democracy from the one-party rule of 1975. It restored press freedom. In 1991, for the sake of the country and unity, it abandoned its preferred presidential system and introduced a parliamentary system. In 1996, it introduced the caretaker government system. Now, BNP must take the initiative to permanently enshrine the proportional upper house system in our constitution.

The reform commission’s thousand-point proposals seem utopian to me. I’m a seasoned, pragmatic person. I believe this one reform should be implemented today: Proportional upper house.

If this one reform is implemented today, all other reforms will follow automatically. There’s no shortcut to reform.