ABSTRACT
Democracy requires several ingredients. The voice of the people must be expressed in free, fair, and timely elections. The people must have other means as well to air their views, including freedom of the press, broadly interpreted to include other media, and they must have the right to assemble to put forward their ideas, although it is doubtful that this right includes the freedom to disrupt the economy and the lives of fellow citizens. Especially when the democracy is in a parliamentary form, the government should expect respect and cooperation from the opposition—a loyal opposition, not a disruptive one. Development continued under Begum Khaleda Zia, although it was impeded by the demonstrations after May 1994. It could be argued that the demonstrations would not have been allowed to take place under an authoritarian government, but the argument proves false as one looks at the period leading up to the fall of Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
