AL Council: Sheikh Hasina remains irreplaceable
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina is set to reach a new height as she is going to get re-elected uncontested again for another three-year term in her party's national council on Saturday (24 December).
Alongside her re-election, the council will also endorse her nomination for the party's general secretary and empower her to pick other office-bearers and members of the party's policy and decision-making bodies – the Central Working Committee and the praesidium.
Awami League's Advisory Council Member Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, also one in the three-member committee that will conduct the election, told The Business Standard that the name of the next party president will be announced first in the second session of the council and, as always, Sheikh Hasina's name will be recommended for this post.
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About 7,500 councillors from all over the country will participate in the council. After finalising the president, names will be sought for general secretary and other posts, he said.
The party chief always proposes and announces the name of the general secretary. Thus, no one gets a chance to contest this position, Yusuf Hossain said.
The council bestows the authority on Sheikh Hasina to choose other office-bearers. She will subsequently announce the full national committee and other committees within a short period of time, the Awami League leader added.
The council will have two sessions – the first at Suhrawardy Udyan and the second at the auditorium of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina, who is also the country's longest-serving prime minister, has been leading the Awami League since 1981 after returning from exile.
Senior leaders and activists of the party said Sheikh Hasina has become an irreplaceable figure with no alternative yet. With the new committee, she is going to create a unique precedent of leadership in South Asian politics, they said.
Unparalleled leadership
The Awami League saw eight presidents and nine general secretaries since its founding on June 23, 1949.
Sheikh Hasina has been serving as the head of the party for 41 consecutive years, way longer than the party's first president Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others.
Since its inception, the Awami League – which literally means the "party of the people" – was at the forefront of all democratic and socio-political movements starting from the Language Movement in 1952 to the Liberation War in 1971.
The party under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's founding father and father of Sheikh Hasina, led the struggle for independence.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman served as the party president from 1966 to 1974.
After the emergence of independent Bangladesh, the Awami League won the first general elections in 1973 but was overthrown in 1975 after the assassination of Bangabandhu along with most of his family members.
The country was run by military regimes for the next 15 years, sending the party to the brink of extinction.
After the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Awami League re-emerged as one of the principal players in the country's politics.
The party came to power after the 1996 general elections and ruled till 2001. It once again came to power in 2009 and has remained the ruling party since then.
Assuming power in 2009, Sheikh Hasina's government undertook a multitude of projects to develop the country's infrastructure.
Hasina, the world's longest-serving female head of state to date, has been ranked 42nd in the 19th annual Forbes list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women recently.
As the next parliamentary election approaches, Sheikh Hasina remains steadfast in her pledge to create a "Smart Bangladesh" by 2041.
Sheikh Hasina in the eyes of experts
According to political analysts, Sheikh Hasina is the most successful person in managing the party and the country after Bangabandhu.
Historian and political analyst Dr Syed Anwar Hossain told TBS that since Sheikh Hasina was elected as the president of the party in 1981, there have been many attempts to split up the party. But all the attempts eventually failed due to the visionary leadership of Sheikh Hasina.
"Sheikh Hasina took charge of the Awami League at the age of 34 and has been working tirelessly since then ignoring the fear of death, as there have been 21 attempts made so far to kill her" he said.
She transformed the country from a low-income country to a middle-income country. Another significant achievement is establishing the country's economy on a solid foundation, he said.
Outstanding success in poverty alleviation, bold decision to open the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to give shelter to Rohingyas, taking a strong stand against corruption, demonstrating competence of his government during the covid-19 pandemic, completing the trial of war criminals in the last 14 years – all the credit goes to Sheikh Hasina, Syed Anwar Hossain said.
Because of her unprecedented success, no one even comes close to assuming the post of Awami League president, the political analyst said.
All preparations completed
Meanwhile, there have been a lot of speculations in the past few weeks as to who will assume the other leading positions, especially the general secretary post – the second most important post of the party.
On Thursday afternoon, the party's current general secretary Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters that there is no possibility of any major change in the upcoming Awami League committee.
"There might be a major reshuffle in the next council but not in this one," he said, adding: "Only Awami League President [Sheikh Hasina] is essential for the party. There is no one who does not support her."
Regarding the post of general secretary, he said, "There are at least 10 candidates for the post of general secretary, who are qualified for the role. But who will be the next general secretary depends on the leader's [Sheikh Hasina] wish and the opinion of the councillors."
According to Awami League leaders, the new committee will be formed with those who can help Sheikh Hasina to steer in the right direction ahead of the next parliamentary election, scheduled for December 2023 or January 2024.
Talking to TBS, several party leaders said the ability to tackle election-year challenges might be the key consideration for the general secretary post.
Aside from the posts of president and general secretary, the council will decide on 79 other posts in the party leadership – 20 praesidium members, 20 secretaries, one treasurer, eight organising secretaries, two deputy secretaries and 28 members.
There may be changes in some major positions while most of the big posts will be retained by previous leaders, sources told TBS.
The party chief may add new faces to the committee in positions of those who have either passed away or are suffering from advanced age or have been controversial for various activities, according to sources.
Some 11 sub-committees, led by top leaders of the party, are working to make this year's conference a success.
Former district and session judge Sahabuddin Chuppu, chairman of the publicity sub-committee and a member of the party's advisory board, told TBS that about one lakh people will join this year's council, including councillors and delegates.
Special security measures have been taken in and around the venue.
With the theme "A promise to realise Bangabandhu's dream of building a developed, affluent and smart Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina," the national council will be inaugurated by Sheikh Hasina at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital around 10:30 am Saturday. The second will be held in the afternoon.
Discussions on various important agendas, including the party constitution, will be held in the first session till the Zuhr prayer, Sahabuddin Chuppu told TBS.
