EVERY day we see in the media graphic images and horror stories of innocent civilians -- victims of the ongoing political unrest. Who is to blame? The answer depends on who you ask; the opposition will point their fingers at the present government, and vice-versa. There is a saying, "Don't point fingers if your hands are not clean." This is an apt statement applicable to all the political players. 

The present unrest is after all the result of self-serving political culture, dating to the 1980's -- when Ershad's regime was ousted by a joint effort of both BNP and AL. It saw a change in our parliamentary system, where the presidential mandate was changed for a prime minister-led system in accordance with the 1972 constitution. This was meant to be the first step towards a democratic movement. It is 2015 now, more than two decades after this first step; have we moved forward with time or is history repeating itself?

The '80s and elections under a dictator
Hussain Muhammad Ershad first paved the way for elections without the approval of opposition parties. In the mid '80s, BNP boycotted an election which was meant to take the country away from martial law and towards a democratically elected government. The election saw a landslide victory for Jatiya Party. However, this period was also short-lived as a controversial policy change saw all opposition walk out of parliament within a year. This inevitably led to the two main opposition leaders uniting to overthrow the proclaimed dictatorial regime in 1991. There was a two month long civil unrest movement which forced Ershad to step down and allow the first election to be held under a neutral government -- a policy that was sought by both BNP and AL.

The '90s: Ignore the people, take to streets, and race to power
Twenty-one years have passed, but the trend and political culture initiated by AL then is being repeated by BNP now. A by-election was held in Magura in 1994, which the opposition AL claimed was rigged, and protested against it. Strikes, street violence and civil unrest were all part of the game to pressurise BNP to transfer power to a neutral caretaker government for holding fresh elections.

The February election in 1996 saw BNP win, but the main opposition parties united in demonstrating against BNP -- accusations of a rigged election being prevalent. This pressure ultimately led to another parliamentary election -- which saw AL take power. AL's reign was marked by walk-outs by BNP, who accused the government of party bias, intimidation and victimisation of BNP party members.

2000: A new millennium yet same old Bangladeshi politics
The parliamentary elections in 2001 were again held under a caretaker government. However, partisanship dictated this period, as members of BNP were re-allocated swiftly to prominent positions -- a task undertaken under retaliatory bias and prejudice. Not surprisingly, the election results were not accepted by AL which staged parliamentary walk-outs -- a fashionable phenomenon courtesy of the 'developing' political culture.

BNP increased the retirement age of the entire judiciary on a whim to manipulate the appointment of the caretaker government head. As the constitution stated that the previous chief justice would, by default, take control of the entire process, BNP extended his tenure to ensure that their preferred man was at the right place at the right time.  

2004 saw the first incident of "bus-burning" phenomenon that is a prevalent political strategy in current Bangladesh -- a double-decker was set-ablaze in front of the Sheraton Hotel claiming 9 lives. It is evident that history had repeated itself and continues to do so.

The Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government held elections in 2008 after failure of the BNP-Jamaat ruling party to initiate one in 2006. Not surprisingly, AL won the elections comfortably and took power in 2009 as BNP had been accused of scandals and malpractice.

Ironically, AL, that had rubbed shoulders with BNP in the '90s to promote the implementation of the caretaker government system, removed the system saying it was prejudicial. It said that government administration would not change hands until after the election. BNP, outraged, reacted by taking the exact route AL had, in 1996, a path of violence and utter disrespect for the well-being of the country and its people.

Both parties have categorically butchered the democratic process; neither trusts the other to hold a free and fair election. The only way democracy can prevail is if we can set partisan politics aside and aim for an independent election. Thus far, we have formulated different means of maintaining our partisan and biased political agenda -- preventing the formation of a truly democratic nation -- with practices such as making members of the bureaucracy OSD or giving forced retirement to persons who were against the ruling party. 

Our failure to finalise a strict policy has resulted in a scope for self-serving political appointments across the country. Einstein defined the insane as people who keep "doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results." Evidently, we are insane; we have constructed many barriers to democracy. Is it not high time we start to address the actual problems rather than continue the current cat-and-mouse game fuelled with blood and anguish?

The writer is a former student leader and political analyst.