Not surprisingly, BNP politicians are befuddled over the on-going round up of troublemakers. The party high command recently advised party activists to take refuge and ward off arrest in the countrywide anti-crime drive by the law enforcers, notwithstanding that such counseling is tantamount to aiding and abetting criminals' attempts to evade the law.

Publicly, both AL and BNP are acquiescing with the rounding up of criminals so long as it's not their men being caught. Privately, however, their worries are translating into increasing pressures on the CTG for holding free and fair election (FAFE) as soon as possible.

Holding early elections may help both AL and BNP to let "law-breaking" party ruffians go Scot free, regardless of which party captures the PMO, because protecting one's own hoodlums would require letting other party's hoodlums wander about unscathed.

When the politicians clamour that the "people" want the CTG to hold a FAFE and transfer power immediately, which people are they referring to: people in the political party or people of the country?

Some obvious questions are:

Who is the CTG serving? Aren't they serving the people and at the same time configuring a model of good governance for the politicians to follow?

Isn't the CTG working tirelessly to dismantle mischief and machinations of all forms, and to conduct a FAFE desired by the people and the politicians?

Weren't the goals of the CTG clearly articulated by the chief adviser on January 21?

Aren't some of the goals being realized at a speed improbable under any political government?

What is the verdict of the people about the performance of the CTG? Aren't they applauding what has so far been achieved?

Can the modus operandi of the CTG form the precursors to good governance for the next political government?

Abdul Jalil (AL) hailed the CA's address to the nation and extolled the menu of reforms proposed in the address as being consistent with the AL's long standing demands.

On the other hand, politically debased but rhetorically unbowed Mannan Bhuiyan (BNP) scoffed at Jail's hailing of the CA's address to the nation: "Those who were rejected by the people in the previous election, whose brutality and repressive attitude stripped the people of their voting rights, have nothing to be happy about the chief adviser's speech. They can, of course, be happy for the delay in holding the election, as it has deferred their defeat."

The CTG advisers are enjoying the overwhelming country-wide support of the people. They also need the unblemished co-operations of the politicians to create the much desired level playing field for a FAFE. Unfortunately, Bhuiyan's unctuous statements and bellicose attitude serve only to bedevil the atmosphere needed for a political reconciliation between two the political rivals while sparing the country from the vicious vitriol of politics.

The CTG indicated that they would stay in power until a FAFE was held. They considered the CA's address to the nation a "roadmap" for the future of the country and the CTG would function in the spirit of that roadmap.

The roadmap to good governance may be one of the primary reasons why politicians are ill at ease. They may be afraid that such roadmap and their implementations by the CTG would put them in a quandary because the politicians won't be able to live up to these lofty expectations once elected to power.

Good governance (GGOV) has the following eight major characteristics: it is accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive, effective and efficient, follows the rule of law, participatory, and consensus oriented.

Achieving GGOV assures that corruption is minimized, minorities' concerns are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable are reflected in decision-making. GGOV requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.

It should be noted that GGOV is an ideal which is almost impossible to realize in its totality. Not too many countries have come close to achieving GGOV in its entirety. However, to ensure sustainable human development, efforts must at least be made to try and achieve this ideal.

It appears prima facie that with the exception of accountability the CTG largely satisfies all of the characteristics of a GGOV. But questions have been raised in some quarters about how the current CTG emerged. Who is calling the shots? How did President Iajuddin Ahmed, who himself concomitantly held the position of the CA to the CTG, make his choice of Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed to be the CA prior to resigning from that position?

While these curiosities are legitimate constitutional issues, they will be rendered irrelevant if the CTG realizes the aspirations of the people who are desperate for a FAFE and a reprieve from both corrupt and politicized administrations.

One can construe that the CTG advisers are mutually accountable to each other and that eleven enlightened individuals cannot all be doing undesirable things at the same time. They may as group be considered "benevolent dictators" committed to serve only people's interest. Their dedicated efforts will establish their legitimacy.

The CTG's modus operandi and the speed with which many long awaited reforms and bureaucratic overhauls are being accomplished may become problematic for future political government since the speed and scope of these changes cannot possibly be matched by the elected government.

One hurdle, aside from the entrenched conflict between party interest and public interest, is that elected government will have to channel things through the parliament and the bureaucracy. The difference between the modus operandi of the CTG and the elected government is that the former operates like a "benevolent dictator" with little or no accountability while the later must operate within the framework of parliamentary democracy.

Some experts are already thinking that once the EC, the judiciary, and the ACC become truly operational as constitutionally independent bodies (CIB) and a "National Security Council" as a think tank watchdog body is formed, there won't be any need for a CTG. But these thoughts at this time are a little premature let us not count our chickens before they hatch.

Dr Abdullah A Dewan is Professor of Economics, Eastern Michigan University.