How much of July mass uprising expectations were fulfilled

The foundation of every political movement and social change in our country’s history has been the establishment of equality and justice. The July 2024 uprising was part of that continuity, in which the young generation challenged the inequalities of the state structure and called for the formation of a just society. A glance through history shows that from British rule to the Pakistan era, and even in independent Bangladesh, social and economic disparities have persisted. To break this vicious cycle of inequality, long-term structural change is needed alongside mass movements.

The political and economic history of the country shows that centralisation of power, unequal development, and inconsistencies in revenue distribution have further intensified disparities. In particular, due to the incompetence and corruption of state institutions, the general public is deprived of desired opportunities. In this context, the necessity for a new economic transformation has become more apparent. In recent times, a debate in the political arena has clouded our thinking. “No election without reform” versus “No reform if elections are delayed” — political circles have become so entangled in this debate that their attention is drifting from urgent matters.

The debate among supporters of both sides is becoming more intense; but the reality is, we need both, and this can be achieved by December 2025 or January 2026. The people want this golden opportunity for reform not to be missed. However, the people are also aware of the current complexity and their priority is a stable political and legal environment. We must not forget that during Sheikh Hasina’s regime, despite widespread corruption and misgovernance, her manipulative elections generated the most public outrage.

In the current situation, due to the popularity of the students and the broad acceptability of Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, people are willing to wait a little to exercise their voting rights; but that patience also has limits. Elections not only form a government, but also ensure accountability of those in power. Possibly the most neglected and undervalued word in our governance system is accountability. The only effective way to hold political leaders accountable is through free and fair elections. It can be said that this has not been effectively utilised in the past. However, if the proposed reforms are implemented, the future situation will be different. The interim government deserves praise for forming reform commissions in the most critical sectors by taking timely initiatives.

The trial process for the indiscriminate killings during the July mass uprising and the past authoritarian state mechanisms is ongoing. Alongside this ongoing process, the government needs to outline a prioritised action plan regarding reforms. Among these, it is essential to identify which reforms are urgent and need to be implemented before the election. These reforms must be identified. Because, if the electoral process proceeds without minimum reforms, that will also remain a significant question. A kind of public frustration regarding reform is already present. To overcome this, the government must adopt some visible plans. The current top priority should be to hold prompt dialogues with political parties and stakeholders to identify pre-election reforms. There is no alternative to reaching consensus with political parties on some basic reforms with the interim government.

If that does not happen, even maintaining the scheduled election date may become difficult. If that happens, the country will once again face a political crisis. Therefore, the interim government should reach a reasonable decision through a cordial and inclusive dialogue process regarding reforms and elections. Simultaneously, political parties must come forward with a positive attitude. On the topic of reform, steps should be taken to identify and implement those issues — such as the July Charter, the Constitution, the Election Commission and electoral system, the parliamentary system, democratic practices within political parties, the administrative and judicial systems — on which political parties can reach consensus. This will allow a fair election to be held at least through some urgent and minimum reforms.

The process of implementing pre-election reforms began under the interim government and is ongoing, and it will be the responsibility of the post-election government to implement the remaining reform proposals. There may be doubts in this regard — will reform really continue under an elected government? Political parties have repeatedly stated that many reforms are possible through an elected government, and they are quite interested in carrying forward the reform agenda. Work is needed on how to bring political parties under accountability regarding these promises. It must also be ensured that the agreed-upon reforms are sustainable in the long run. Therefore, an institutional system of accountability must be established to ensure that political parties do not just end their responsibility by making promises to the people but are able to implement them.

This could begin with an acceptable July Charter. We see that discussions on the July Charter are ongoing and the Consensus Commission is working on it. Through participation of political parties in the July Charter, a roadmap for implementing post-election reforms can be formulated. If political parties can come to a consensus by aligning reform proposals with their proposed activities in their election manifestos, then public confidence in them will increase further. There is visible political goodwill among political parties to reach consensus on some fundamental issues. Therefore, it will also be a positive matter for political parties to present a detailed roadmap and outline for post-election reforms to the public.

At the same time, this will remain a document of commitment and pledge to meet public expectations for the elected government. If that is done, that reform-related promise and commitment cannot be easily ignored by the next elected government. In this regard, political parties must also positively agree in the national interest and come forward. Now is the time to come out of the historical political practice of blame games and violence. By giving the people a comfortable future, they can also play a leading role in building a positive, people-friendly, and sustainable political system. In this regard, the BNP, as a large and popular party in Bangladesh, can take on the responsibility of leadership.

Political parties must always keep in mind that politics must not become an obstacle to logical and contextually appropriate reform proposals in Bangladesh, and they must work with guarantees in this regard. Political parties stand at the threshold of a historic moment to rebuild the country, and if they can utilise that opportunity appropriately, the country, the people, and they themselves will benefit. Although political parties always claim to work in the public interest, in the end, public interest often remains neglected.

We must also bring those issues into our reform process so that the people are not neglected this time, and political parties must make genuine commitments to prioritising public interest. Therefore, through a mindset of mutual concession, consensus must be reached in the national interest on reform, justice for the July killings, and the election. Although there is a historical lack of public trust in the reform process of elected governments in the context of Bangladesh’s past and present, given the current reality, political parties must make a commitment to take appropriate positive steps to implement reasonable, necessary, and contextually feasible reform proposals.

To keep the country stable, move forward with election, justice, and reform, and prevent the re-emergence of autocracy in this country forever, a broader unity is needed. All political parties are requested — instead of engaging in debates, focus entirely on reform and elections. This will protect our national interest. Forgetting mutual divisions, full cooperation with the interim government must continue so that it can implement this dual goal of reform and election quickly and transparently.

Rayhan Ahmed Tapader: Researcher and columnist