They also stressed the importance of introducing national identity cards for holding elections in a free, fair and transparent way, and emphasised mandatory registration of political parties and updating the voter list before the next parliamentary elections.

Suggestions also came for ensuring the credibility and accountability of the caretaker government through appropriate reforms to make elections neutral and plausible.

The roundtable on 'Electoral Reforms in Bangladesh: A Preliminary Proposal' was jointly organised by The Daily Star, daily the Prothom Alo and Sujan, a civil society initiative to promote good governance, at Cirdap Auditorium in the city with Prof Muzaffer Ahmed in the chair. The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam moderated the discussions on a wide range of electoral reforms.

Among the participating jurists were Jaitya Oikkya Mancha President Dr Kamal Hossain, former chief election commissioner (CEC) Justice MA Rouf, Dr M Zahir, Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud and Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque.

The political leaders attending the roundtable included former law minister Abdul Matin Khasru, Political Secretary to Opposition Leader Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu, Awami League lawmaker Advocate Rahmat Ali, former bureaucrat and ruling party lawmaker Mushfiqur Rahman and Bikalapa Dhara leader Feroz Hasan.

Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) President Prof Quazi Kholiquazzaman Ahmad, Dr Tofael Ahmed of Chittagong University, Prof Shawkat Ara Hossain and Dr. Asif Nazrul of Dhaka University, Dr Mohammad Masum of Jahangirnagar University were among the academics present.

The eminent citizens and NGO activists who took part in the discussions included former advisers to caretaker government Hafizuddin Khan and ASM Shahjahan, former diplomat Abul Ahsan, National Wage Commission Chairman Mujibul Haque, Hunger Project Bangladesh Country Director Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (Fema) Chairperson Munira Khan and Brotee Chief Executive Officer Sharmin Murshed.

DISCUSSION DETAILS
Former CEC Justice MA Rouf highlighted the significance of introducing a national identity card in holding the general elections in a free and fair manner. He also recommended population registration.

"Without national ID cards, it's not possible to hold elections in a fair and transparent way. It's possible to provide all the citizens with ID cards in nine months time with local expertise," Justice Rouf said. But, no political party wants introduction of such an ID card, he added.

Rouf emphasised on the needs for brining transparency in vote counting and also for bringing discipline among the political parties so that they can at least show respect to each other.

Dr Kamal Hossain said the new CEC should be appointed by a consensus of all political parties.

Citing Justice Rouf's appointment as the CEC in 1990, Kamal said, "A CEC chosen through a consensus will be acceptable to all political parties as well as the people." "The situation is deplorable that a candidate now has to buy off the officer in-charge of the police station to turn the electoral environment in his favour," Dr Kamal said.

He said elections must be freed of the influence of black money and muscle power, adding that the law enforcement agencies should be used properly towards that end.

Underscoring the importance of transparency in electoral process, he said without it people's choice would not be reflected.

Dr. Kamal censured the recent appointment of 19 additional judges at the High Court, saying with that the government has struck at the very foundations of our constitution.

Noted lawyer Dr M Zahir said a fair election requires a voter list cent percent errorless, but there is little effort to do that.

He suggested separating the EC secretariat from the prime minister's secretariat, saying, "Officials of the Election Commission should be taken out of the PM's secretariat."

There are some impediments to holding free and transparent elections in the country, observed Prof Mozaffer Ahmed.

He said transparency and accountability of the political parties would increase if their registration were made mandatory.

He also questioned the independence of the EC and said unless there is a strong and independent EC, it would be difficult to hold a transparent election.

There are questions about the voter list, election monitoring and nomination of candidates by political parties, Prof Mozaffer remarked. Sharmeen Murshed of Brotee said to hold a free and fair election the EC has to be free and strengthened.

She expressed concern at the way the voter list is prepared, where the margin of error is very high compared to other countries.

Referring to the Dhaka-10 by-election last year, she said, "In that election, 39 percent votes were cast, of which 54 percent were fake. It is a good example of how wrong a polls can go, as there was 65 percent error in the voter list." Citing an example of India, which she said had made some changes in its electoral laws, including providing for a proper voter list, which has made its electoral process more credible to people.

"As long as the voter list remains full of errors, it's impossible to hold a fair election," Murshed said, adding the EC should immediately start working for preparing an accurate voter list and if necessary it can take help of the non-government organisations to carry out the task. Former adviser to caretaker government Hafiz Uddin Khan noted that no body in the country, not even the election candidates, reads the electoral laws.

He proposed to scale up the punishments for violating electoral laws and to create awareness among the people on them.

The EC is acting like any other ministry of the government, as it lacks independence, observed former diplomat Abul Ahsan.

He said flawless voter list and empowerment of the EC would bring about a qualitative change in the country's electoral process.

Badiul Alam Mazumder of Hunger Project Bangladesh remarked that voters here do not get much information about the candidates. He regretted that the "politics in Bangladesh is criminalised, where, as in the past, people still vote considering the election symbols of the parties not the candidates." "Every candidate should submit an affidavit describing his or her qualifications, stating wealth and other relevant information along with the nomination paper," he proposed, and added that there should be a provision for punishment in case of giving wrong information in the affidavit.

Former law minister and AL leader Advocate Abdul Matin Khasru also seconded the proposal for introducing a national ID card and said an electronic voting system will help make an election more transparent.

He said the credibility and accountability of the caretaker government have to be ensured, as some activities of the previous caretaker government have given rise to a number of questions.

"The selection of the last retired chief justice as the head of caretaker government has made a negative impact on the judiciary," Khasru pointed out.

JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu apprehended that if the next CEC is not appointed on the basis of a consensus, it might lead to a political 'disaster'.

Political parties have to acquire a mindset of accepting poll results and parliament must be made effective from the very first day, he said.

The JSD chief also hammered away at making the EC independent, both administratively and financially, to make elections free of anomalies.

He proposed that returning officers should not be chosen from the mainstream administration and they should be brought under the EC.

AL Organising Secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury said reforming both the EC and the caretaker government is necessary to ensure effective elections.

On registration of political parties, Saber said it is an appropriate issue to be discussed.

BEA Chair Qazi Kholiquzzaman said, for reforms to be effective, awareness on electoral laws has to be created among the masses.

Former adviser to caretaker government ASM Shahjahan advocated for absolute freedom of the EC, not only in papers but also in practice, in conducting elections.

He posed the question, "If the EC does not have financial authority and absolute freedom in formulating the code of conduct then how could we term it independent?"

Ruling BNP MP Mushfiqur Rahman said, before introducing new laws, we have to make sure that the existing laws are being properly enforced.

He questioned the rationale of army deployment during election and said, "If the candidates follow the electoral laws, there would be no need for that."

Fema President Munira Khan said, without a strong and independent EC, it would never be possible to hold a transparent election.

Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud expressed his support to the motion for introducing voter ID cards and installation of close circuit cameras at the poling centres.

He said if the two steps are taken, election disputes would lessen significantly.

Former bureaucrat Mujibul Haque proposed forming a 101-member civil society action group to formulate an electoral reform agenda and to table it before the political parties.

AL leader Rahmat Ali said the law enforcement agencies should be brought under the supervision of EC during elections. He also favoured introduction of ID cards.

Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque voiced his support for mandatory registration of political parties in order to infuse transparency in them.

The moderator of the roundtable, The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, said free, fair and transparent election is a pre-condition for institutionalising the democracy.

He also observed that the absence of record of political parties' election expenditures is a big issue for the people of the country.