IT is easy to react cynically to the massive parliamentary victory credited to former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her allies in the country's first election in seven years. But according to independent monitors from the international community, the election was fair and the results credible. A UN-funded digital electoral roll, which has eliminated 12.7 million fake names, appeared to have resolved many of the problems that previous elections have suffered, monitors said. All involved, particularly the opposition led by another former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, should respect that judgement and allow the Awami League to go forward with assuming power from the interim government imposed by the Bangladeshi military in the midst of widespread political turmoil in 2007. The results mark a stunning turnaround in the political career of Hasina, the daughter of Sheik Mujibur Rahma, who led Bangladesh in its liberation struggle against Pakistan in 1971 and who was assassinated in a military coup four years later. In 2001, Hasina was knocked from power after a landslide defeat at the hands of Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and then jailed on charges of corruption, extortion and even murder. She was paroled from jail in June in order to travel to the US for medical treatment, a journey that many thought would end with her taking up residence in the US and not returning to the Bangladeshi political scene. She did return, however, not only to the country but, most likely, to the office of prime minister. Not only are Hasina's political fortunes checkered, her behavior in office has hardly been exemplary, the charges still outstanding against her being ample evidence of that. Nevertheless, the visceral and fervent opposition to her by the BNP could be as much, if not more, of an obstacle to finding ways of making a dent in the overwhelming problems facing this destitute nation. If Bangladesh is to have a chance, then its politicians must be the first to give it a chance, serving for the good of the country rather than their own short-sighted benefits. Sheikh Hasina is far from the ideal choice to lead Bangladesh, but a concerted effort on the part of the opposition to work with her rather than simply seeking to oust her might make Bangladesh's future look a little less bleak. __
