The next round of consultations between the chief adviser's office, and the various political parties that have stood in its support, and by and large supported the mass uprising that felled the previous government, promises to be a more interesting one. As we have come to learn from the CA's press wing, this round will be focused on the mandate of the six commissions that have been formed to implement the interim government's reform agenda in six key areas: on constitutional amendments, the judiciary, the police department, the administration, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Election Commission.

Although Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus himself announced the formation of these commissions in a televised address to the nation under six eminent personalities regarded as experts in their respective fields, we later learned none of them had managed to complete the recruitment of other members to commence their work from October 1, as had been planned originally. It was then decided to consult with the political parties to have their inputs on what exactly is expected from these commissions, as well as their recommendations on who else should be part of the commissions.

This makes sense, even if questions can be raised on why this wasn't done earlier to allow the commissions to commence their work on October 1. Even if nothing is set in stone, the general understanding is that each of these commissions will get three months to submit a report specific to their area, covering everything from their present state to suggested sector-specific reforms, based on which the interim government could provide a roadmap for their implementation followed by elections.

The danger here lies in viewing reform as a one-off event, that can be brought about by a change in personnel through some new appointments and some changes in the rules and regulations relevant to each area. In some areas, that may very well be the case. Take, for example, the Election Commission. There is nothing per se in the rules governing elections that led to dubious elections of 2014, 2018 and 2024. It was the fact that a partisan government wielding all kinds of influence over various state organs and more than willing to use them to manipulate the results, stood over the EC.

If future elections in Bangladesh are held under a caretaker government, and there seems to be a consensus to favour this, there is actually nothing much that needs to be changed wholesale in the internal workings of the commission - except perhaps to revive the process of the commission recruiting its own manpower to conduct elections, so that deputy commissioners and other local officers don't have to be pressed into election duty as returning officers and assistant returning officers. You can really just select a new commission, preferably with three commissioners not five, and be on your way.

While the delayed start to the work of these six commissions may drive a sense of public frustration with the pace at which the interim government is going about its work, we would do well to remember two other such bodies, namely the committee tasked with producing a white paper on the economy, and one on banking sector reforms, have commenced their work. The former, headed by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, is working with a 90-day framework to submit the white paper, after which the government is likely to announce a revised budget. Of all the commissions and different types of bodies formed by the interim government since coming to office, their work might just be the most important of all.