For a better electoral system
Ishak Zaman, MI, USA
There is lot of wastage in our election system. If those can be avoided, the country can use that money for meeting other crying needs. I think the following steps can help improve the efficiency of the electoral system.1. Right now a candidate for MP election is allowed to run for five seats. This should be reduced to one seat. This will help the country to avoid the costs of by-elections. 2. All major elections should be help at the same time and duration for all electoral bodies should be also the same (either 4 or 5 years). Now, we have separate elections for Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad (not held for a couple of years), Pourashava, City Corporation and Parliament. If Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad, Pourashava, City Corporation and Parliament elections are held at the same time, this will save the country several billion taka. If an adequate number of security personnel is not found, the election can be held on 4 or more days . To ensure trasparency, the counting can be held at the same time when elections are complete. This will also help the country to focus more on the economy than having different elections every 2-3 years. 3. Currently, if an MP or any other elected person dies or is unable to perform his/ her duty or forced out of position by law for different reasons, a re-election occurs. This is costly for a country like Bangladesh. So a less expensive system of replacement should be found. 4. If a candidate dies before the election, the election for that seat gets postponed in Bangladesh. It is costly for the country to reprint the ballots and run the election separately. The election should be held without her/him. 5. The deposit money to run for any election is very low. The amount should be raised so that only serious candidates seek election. 6. All posters, leaflets and big gates should be banned. 7. No election meeting should be allowed on public road(s). This will help economic activities to continue as usual even during election time. 8. To increase transparency of the system, all candidates should declare her/his own and family assets, debt report and funding process for the election. I think there might be more ideas for having an efficient electoral system. Hope the EC and the government will take such steps as will increase the efficiency of the electoral system as a whole.
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