Army deployment, changes in RPO urgent for next polls
It is imperative that the next general election is held in a free, fair and inclusive manner, speakers at a roundtable said yesterday.
Members of the civil society, a former judge and university teachers spoke at the roundtable titled “Requisites for holding a fair, impartial and acceptable election”, organised by Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) at Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
Without such a fair election, Bangladesh will turn into a country like North Korea where there is no democracy and freedom of speech, the speakers also said.
“The national election of January 4 in 2014 was a controversial one. The country will not be able to afford another election like the one of 2014. We need the next general election to be free, fair and inclusive for the greater interest of the country and its people,” Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder said.
In his keynote paper, the Shujan secretary placed a 19-point recommendation that includes reintroduction of the “no vote” option since it is widely popular among voters who deem this option as a tool for holding the election in a free, fair and inclusive manner.
Badiul said the present constitutional provision of holding the national election without dissolving the parliament is an “inbuilt barrier” for holding a free, fair and competitive election.
“The ruling party remains in a specially privileged situation if the election is held under the partisan government with the parliament in force. It would be difficult to ensure a level playing field for everyone if the election is held under the present constitutional provision,” Badiul observed.
“Given the situation, it would not be possible even for the most independent, strong and impartial election commission to hold an acceptable and competitive election,” he added.
In the recommendations, Badiul urged for bringing some important amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), deployment of army during the election period, introducing online system for the submission of nominations so the affidavits of the candidates can be published online swiftly.
Shujan also said in order to stop “nomination trade”, it should be made mandatory for every political party to nominate their prospective candidates in parliamentary seats based on opinions from the party's grassroots panels.
It also recommended that the EC should prepare a security plan to control any law and order situation during the election as law enforcement agencies in the country are very much politically biased.
Shujan President M Hafiz Uddin Khan said Bangladesh has already turned into a country like North Korea as the people do not have freedom of speech at present. “We don't have any voice at present.”
Imran [Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker] recently mentioned rightfully that we don't have any freedom of speech if we want to live in the country... We can rid ourselves of the situation if we can establish democracy in the country.”
“We need a serious movement to regain democratic atmosphere in the country,” he also said.
Justice Kazi Ebadul Hoque said the Election Commission should make rules to ban some outdoor campaign methods including setting up of archways on roads, putting up of posters and banners and using loudspeakers in the election.
Former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hussain said theoretically Bangladesh Election Commission is more powerful than any other election commission in South Asian countries including India. In spite of this, holding a free and fair election is not being possible due to the present political culture in the country.
Sakhawat said in many cases, members of law enforcement agencies, especially the police and the Rapid Action Battalion, stand in the way of holding a free and fair election as they are highly biased and partisan.
If there is a political will, holding of an acceptable election with a few minor hitches is possible under any political government, he observed.
Dhaka University professor Asif Nazrul and columnist Syed Abul Maksud, among others, criticised the government for its misrule and curtailing democratic space in the country.
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