In the wake of the 15-year reign of terror by Sheikh Hasina’s government, countless cases of corruption and crime have likely piled up over this period. We have heard of dwindling foreign reserves and felt the impact of economic mismanagement on our wallets. However, the true extent of these problems is likely much worse and waiting to be uncovered.

As a journalist who has worked in the newsroom for the past year, I am convinced that our economic situation is much worse than what the former Awami League leaders told us.

At the same time, this mass uprising has clearly shown that the population has lost faith in the existing political system of the country. Whether you look at social media or talk to people on the streets, there is a general consensus that nobody wants the same old political parties to take power. Both the Awami League and the BNP have been in power intermittently over the last two decades, and neither has proven that they can rule the country without corruption. From this perspective, the existing political scene does not offer enough diversity to the masses.

Against this background, we must ask ourselves the crucial question: are three months enough to hold free and fair elections? Because that is not the only problem that concerns us.

Restoring democracy and ensuring that no party can consolidate power in the same way as the previous government is not something that can be accomplished in months or even years.

Not to mention that laws like the Cyber ​​Security Act (CSA) need to be fundamentally changed so that no future administration can use it to crack down on free speech, dissent, and political opponents.

But can we trust that another politically affiliated party will carry out these tasks fairly and freely?

No. Under no circumstances should we expect any party to handle these tasks fairly, no matter how much goodwill it can attract. Call it panic or PTSD, but the Hasina government has clearly shown that if the government forges the right alliances with the right parties, it can tie your tongue, kidnap you and then even shoot you and get away with it. It can even put its own people in politically independent parts of the state.

Given all these opportunities to create another authoritarian state, we cannot allow another dominant political party to come to power. As a journalist who is only now able to speak freely and without fear, I believe it is of utmost importance that we do not leave even the slightest opportunity for another authoritarian leader to take Hasina’s place.

The main issues raised by the protests – lack of democracy, corruption and unemployment, to name a few – are the main problems that the transitional government must address directly. At the very least, the transitional government should appoint other independent bodies to deal with these issues.

If the current situation in Egypt can serve as an example, then we should plan now how we will proceed, and this is not something that can happen in three months. I believe that this interim government should be given at least a year to restore some of the most basic constitutional rights that the last government was able to violate.

Well, the proposed scenario is undemocratic, but what do we know about democracy? The faint traces of democracy that ever existed in this country have disappeared in the last 15 years. Restoring these basic rights will take more than three months.

Right now, this is a completely unique scenario that we have been thrust into by unprecedented circumstances where over 400 people have been killed in less than a month just for demanding their basic rights. We cannot ignore the past and so we must understand that this is uncharted territory and we must think outside the legal boundaries within which our government operates.

This period would also allow new political parties to enter the electoral race and campaign with an identity that the masses want. We cannot simply have another unopposed election with low turnout.

We cannot become a second Arab Spring just because we have to uphold constitutional standards and political ideals and precedents, even though all of this has not been a reality for the general public for most of our existence.

The key issues we need to address going forward are a fair investigation into the crimes and corruption of the Hasina-led government, restoring democracy, promoting a better political environment and ensuring free and fair elections. If we only aim for the latter, we will not get anywhere and may end up with another autocratic regime that rigs elections and consolidates its power once again.

Aaqib Hasib is an editor at The Daily Star. You can contact him at (email protected).

The views expressed in this article are those of the author.

Follow The Daily Star Opinion on Facebook for the latest opinions, comment and analysis from experts and professionals. If you would like to submit your article or letter to The Daily Star Opinion, please see our submission guidelines.