Partisan bureaucracy obstacle to fair polls

Prof Anwar Hossain speaks at a roundtable titled 'Free and Fair election: In the present context and our thoughts'. On his left are Muhammad Jamir, lawmaker GM Quader, HT Imam, Prof Khondkar Ashraf Hossain and Waliur Rahman. PHOTO: STAR

It is a tough task to hold a free and fair election in the present context of the country even if the government meets all the 31-point demand of the 14-party opposition combine, said the speakers at a roundtable yesterday.

They said the caretaker government cannot do much within the three months of its tenure as the four-party alliance government has designed the bureaucracy in its five years in such a way that it is really difficult to conduct a fair election.

The roundtable titled 'Free and Fair election: In the present context and our thoughts' was organised by Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (Bilia) and International Society for Ensuring Fair Election (ISEFE) in the city.

Journalist Selim Omrao Khan presented the keynote paper.

The speakers questioned the neutrality of the chief of caretaker government where the judiciary is still under the executive body.

"Reforms of the caretaker government and the Election Commission (EC) would not work much. It needs reforms in politics, political parties and political leaders for holding an acceptable election," said Prof Anwar Hossain.

If the EC could be made independent and strong, there is no need to hold the election under a caretaker government, Ambassador Muhammad Jamir said, adding that the reform of the EC is a must and the voting process should be transparent.

" The government has created disputes over the recruitment of the election commissioners. Besides, the activities of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the way he was recruited has made the opposition parties suspicious. Now the government has to remove the suspicions by meeting the 31-point demand of the 14-party opposition combine," said GM Quader, a lawmaker of Jatiya Party.

About the on-going dialogue at the secretary level, he said it is not hopeful as the possibility of reaching a consensus is very little in our political practice.

The speakers said the dialogue has become a matter of apprehension which should be removed immediately for the greater interest of the country.

If the dialogue ends in vain, the situation will worsen, they warned.

Editor of the Bhorer Kagoj Shyamol Dutta moderated the programme which was addressed by former cabinet secretary HT Imam, Dr Mustafa Nurul Islam, Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, Prof Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, Ambassador Waliur Rahman and Dr Khondkar Ashraf Hossain.