Astaghfirullah! We are not satisfied
THE recently held fourth phase of UZ election was claimed by the election commissioner in-charge, to have been free and fair barring some stray incidents of violence. “Alhamdulillah, I am satisfied with the voting atmosphere,” he had remarked. We disagree Interestingly, there has been a very notable tendency on the part of the election commisioner to invoke the intervention of Providence for the satisfactory conduct of UZ elections. And for the violence and violation of the electoral laws he has put the blame at the door of fate, claiming to have done all that was necessary to conduct a good election. His satisfaction, I am sure, is not shared by most people, more so because of the smugness with which he seems to have explained the incidents of violence and deaths, as these being fairly common in local elections in Bangladesh. This is not only a poor attempt to justify failure of the Commission but it will also spawn violence in future.
It is demeaning as a member of general public to be taken for an idiot by these civil servants. They are so completely bereft of moral obligation and integrity that they do not feel any qualms to distort facts about events of which the public are very well aware, thanks to the efforts of the media, the majority of which have bravely projected the shocking efforts to commandeer the results of the UZ elections.
His account of the election appeared to be of some other planet and not Bangladesh. It was unabashed distortion of a violence-marred election, the predictability of which could not have missed the attention of even the most casual observer of politics. There was an incremental ratcheting up of violence and all types of violations of the electoral code, from rigging to capture of booths. And to put this in percentage terms, of the number of incidents and total number of polling centres, is but a fig leaf to hide the EC's inability to provide the atmosphere for a free and fair election.
Two stark examples will show how unwilling or unprepared or inert the EC has been in performing their bounden task. Amongst the many instances of pre-poll violence was one where a chairman candidate had openly threatened the supporters of his opponent not to go to the poll centers or else they might find themselves without their thumb. This was carried in all the major dailies in the country. But that must have missed the notice of the EC because we do not know whether the Commission has taken cognisance of the statement since no action has been taken in light of the reported threat by the candidate.
The second incident is again an example of abdication of responsibility by the EC. It preferred to refer the matter of a minister's violation of electoral codes to the government instead of taking action which it is empowered to do. We would want to know why it chose not to serve showcause instead. Passing the buck to the government is not only evasion of duty it is also severe dereliction of its responsibility. In fact the said minister was not the only public servant who had violated the code of conduct
If Providence failed the Commission by not answering the in-charge CEC's prayers it is because the actions he had taken were not good enough or that he had not taken appropriate action at the right time to ensure peaceful polls. Surely, an election where several people were killed and where violence occurred in nearly 40% of the UZs where the elections were held in the fourth phase, cannot be called peaceful. Or perhaps he did not pray hard enough or with a clear mind to acquit the EC well of this onerous responsibility.
If what we saw happen on March 23 was peaceful one wonders what a violent election would look like. From what we saw in the media of rigging and booth capture than we cannot be faulted for thinking that the EC has been a silent spectator in the ruling party's effort to commandeer the results of the election. It was a victory for the AL. It will do well for the AL to remember that the manner of its victory has sapped the credibility of the ruling party even more.
The country does not want to go back to the days of CEC Aziz. The EC would require more than just supplication to Allah so as not to feel ashamed to look itself in the mirror after the 5th phase of UZ election.
The writer is Editor, OP-ed and Defence and Strategic Affairs, The Daily Star.
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