On August 20, for only the second time in our history, parliamentarians will have the opportunity to elect the president of the republic. If the ruling party sticks to its decision not to allow its MPs to vote freely, however, the entire exercise is poised to be anything but an election. It could instead be described as the beginning of the new president’s coronation. Like the first presidential vote 35 years ago, this one too follows another pro-democracy uprising. The first uprising forced out the military dictator, General HM Ershad; the second overthrew the civilian but increasingly dictatorial regime of Sheikh Hasina. In between these upheavals, we had seven presidential elections, all won unopposed by nominees of the then ruling parties. Interestingly, in both post-uprising parliaments, BNP would play a decisive role in determining the country’s democratic future. The second mass uprising, known as the July Uprising, was, in many ways, a very different political upheaval. It ...

  Hearing the ruling party’s general secretary say that the BNP's October 28 rally in the capital would face a similar reaction as did the one on December 10, we can now gauge what the intention of the government is. Perhaps, many of us have already started adjusting our diaries, out of fear of violence or to avoid harassment in the name of heightened security. The possibility of another unannounced shutdown ( better to be called a hartal enforced by the supporters of the ruling party) may also encourage them to leave Dhaka simply to avoid any additional sufferings.  The warning given to the opposition BNP by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for its expressed intent is undoubtedly worrying and deplorable. On the other hand, it is also an admission that the government did crack down on the opposition on December 7, 2022, for which they had so far put the blame on the BNP’s alleged subversive activities.  Many questions still remain unanswered as to why the gov...