Non-partisan govt, Election Commission vaccine of democracy

Picture of the WEBINAR

Former minister and BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said on Sunday that the Election Commission cannot be strengthened by law alone. In any case, a neutral election cannot be expected under a party government.

Addressing a webinar as the chief guest he said the history of democracy in Bangladesh is not long. Institutionally, the Election Commission and other state organs are corrupt. In order to restore the right to vote and dignity of the people of Bangladesh before the forthcoming parliamentary elections, everyone must take to the streets in a movement to overthrow the present party government by uniting the people through a simultaneous movement before a non-partisan, neutral government.

The South Asia Youth for Peace and Prosperity Society (SAYPPS) organized the webinar titled ‘Restructuring the Election Commission and the Future of Democracy in Bangladesh’. The webinar was presided over and conducted by Dr Sajjadul Hoque, Chairman, SAYPPS.

Mr. Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Convener, Citizens Unity, in his discussion said that the way the people of Bangladesh want to form a strong, neutral election commission will never be fulfilled by the present Awami government. One hundred percent political solution to this issue must be found politically through the movement on the highway. He said that EVM system is totally unsuitable for voters who are unaware of technology in elections.

Bangladesh Kallyan Party Chairman Major General (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, Bir Pratik, said the Election Commission under the present government was behaving like Thuto Jagannath. The Election Commission has played a completely unsuccessful role in curbing vote fraud in the recent elections. Also, the search committee for the formation of the Election Commission is just a farce, through which the people of the party’s choice get a place in the committee. Through this other political parties are

being deprived of their political rights. He also highlighted the potential for vote rigging through EVMs or electronic voting machines. He said all these inconsistencies could be rectified through an election commission made up of people with strong moral character.

He mentioned that there is an opportunity for His Excellency the President to intervene in this matter. However, he said that political movement would be the only solution if the government did not agree to restructure the Election Commission through a meeting with the President or through fair discussions.

Chittagong University Professor of Political Science Dr Muhammad Yahya Akhtar said that even though Bangladesh is over 50 years of age, there is no comprehensive law centered on the Election Commission. Due to the absence of this law, the ruling parties in Bangladesh have had the opportunity to influence this commission at different times. The former election commissions have completely failed to exercise their legal powers. He said it was a wrong decision to dismiss the caretaker government without reform. It is not possible to form a neutral commission in the process that the search committee is following at present. Therefore, the search committee should take into account the names given by the political parties. Again, the opportunity of fraud is being created by selecting through EVM. To solve this problem, EVM machine needs to be further improved and paper heap with EVM has to be arranged. Now the political environment of Bangladesh is vindictive. Therefore, it is not possible to have a fair election under a political party at this time. In this situation, there is no alternative to the formation of a credible and ethical interim government through legislation. There is no such thing as having to be a caretaker. In order to make the election fair, the parliament has to be dissolved and then elections have to be held.

Mr. Saifuddin Ahmed, Chairman, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Dhaka University, said that for sustainable democracy, an Election Commission should be formed with honest, loyal, patriotic and sincere people. Besides, other institutions like the Election Commission should also be aware of the need to bring back the trend of fair democracy in Bangladesh. And all sections of society must be free from political influence and corruption.

ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon said who will be the chief election commissioner and the commissioners will have to be constitutionally passed in the parliament. – Press release