Awami League, in its election manifesto, promises to ensure transparency, accountability, honesty and public-service in administration.
It also pledges to keep working on developing a patriotic and people-centric administration if voted to power.
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina today unveiled the election manifesto of the party for the upcoming national elections slated to be held on December 30.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected unofficially from Bogura-6 constituency in the 11th parliamentary elections held on Sunday.
Election Commission (EC) Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed announced the unofficial results of all 141 polling centers of the constituency.
Fakhrul bagged 205987 votes with “sheaf of paddy” symbol while his nearest rival Jatiya Party candidate Nurul Islam Omar got 39,961 votes with “plough” symbol.
But, the BNP secretary general was defeated by AL candidate Ramesh Chandra Sen in Thakurgaon-1 constituency.
Sen bagged 2,25,795 votes with ‘boat’ symbol in all 175 centers while his nearest contestant Fakhrul got 1,27,067 votes with ‘sheaf of paddy’ symbol. Thakurgaon-1 constituency lies in Fakhrul’s home district.
At least three journalists, including a photojournalist of this paper, were assaulted during parliamentary polls in Dhaka and Chattogram yesterday, while a number of journalists covering polls for this paper faced obstructions from activists of political parties and law enforcers in the capital.
Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo of The Daily Star and Al Amin, a staff reporter of Chattogram-based online news portal Cvoice24.com, came under attack by alleged ruling party men while covering election proceedings.
Meanwhile, senior reporter of Bangla daily Manab Zamin Kafi Kamal was assaulted while returning from a polling centre after casting vote in Moghbazar.
Apurbo was assaulted by five to six men in front of Shahjadpur Model Government Primary School in Gulshan around 12:05pm.
The attackers, wearing badges of Awami League electoral symbol “boat”, came out of a crowd and started questioning him while he was taking photographs well outside the polling centre.
At one point, they swooped on him and beat him up indiscriminately. The attackers broke his spectacles and took away his cell phone.
However, with help from on-duty police personnel, he got his cell phone back, on condition of deleting some photos of polls atmosphere from it.
Al Amin alleged he was injured in his forehead by some 15 miscreants while trying to enter Bepza High School polling centre in the port city around 10:30am, reports our Chattogram correspondent.
The attackers, who were near the polling centre during voting hours, swooped on him after knowing his professional identity, he further alleged.
He was rescued by some locals, and later took treatment at a local clinic.
Contacted, Officer-in-Charge Mir Nurul Huda of EPZ Police Station said he was unaware about the incident.
Police would take action if a complaint is filed, he added.
Kafi Kamal said he, along with his wife, was returning from Eskaton Garden School on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw around 9am.
Seeing some people beating up a few youths in front of Moghbazar BTCL School centre, he came down from the auto-rickshaw and tried to take photos and videos of the incident from a safe distance, Kafi said.
Suddenly, some youths wearing badges of “boat” symbol surrounded him, snatched away his cell phone and started kicking and punching him.
Kafi said he was rescued by two other journalists passing by, and received treatment at a nearby hospital. He had to get four stitches above his left eye.
Besides, a number of journalists of this paper, who were carrying identity cards issued by the Election Commission, were also obstructed in different ways, including denial of entry to polling centres, by on-duty law enforcement agency members and alleged ruling party men across Dhaka city.
As per EC guideline, journalists carrying EC-issued identity cards were allowed to enter polling centres without any obstruction.
AKM Zamir Uddin was not allowed to enter AKM Rahmatullah Degree College in Uttar Badda area around 9am. Upon learning that he is a journalist, a man wearing badge of “boat” symbol told him not to enter the polling centre, and “offered a cup of tea”.
Rafiul Islam was repeatedly obstructed by on-duty police and Ansar men from entering nine out of the 10 polling centres under Dhaka-4 constituency, keeping him waiting outside the main gate in most cases while the law enforcers got “permission” from inside the centres.
In Shyampur under Dhaka-4, a senior reporter of this paper who wished not to be named, was kept waiting for over half an hour by police personnel, for “taking permission from authorities” to let him in at Faridabad High School polling centre.
Sohel Parvez was denied entry at four centres in Dhaka-6 constituency. He was pushed and shoved at Dhaka Central Girl's High School centre by some men wearing badges of Jatiya Party electoral symbol “plough”, and was forced to leave the place.
Reporter Muhammad Zahidul Islam and photojournalist Amran Hossain were stopped at the gate of the Shaheed Zia Basabo High Scool under Dhaka-9 by law enforcers, saying photojournalists were not allowed inside. Later, they went in after the presiding officer came to the gate.
Zahidul Islam was also prevented by activists wearing badges of “boat” from entering a polling centre in Modhubagh, under Dhaka-12 constituency.
Photojournalist Palash Khan was prevented by activists of Awami League from entering Manipur High School polling centre in Mirpur under Dhaka-15.
Our reporters at Kalachandpur Government High School and College in the capital, as well as at polling centres in Bandarban and Barishal, also faced obstructions in covering the election.
Awami League in its election manifesto today pledged to form a National Minority Commission to ensure safety of the minority communities.
Laws that discriminate religious and ethnic minorities will be amended and the communities' property rights will be ensured within a fixed timeframe.
Moreover, steps will be taken to implement the sections of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord that have not yet been implemented, the party said in its manifesto.
The disclosures of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) vis-à-vis the assets of candidates contesting in the 12th parliamentary election cannot be called exactly sensational. Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen similar, if selected, dissections of the affidavits submitted by candidates to the Election Commission. But the TIB provides a broad, comparative overview of their assets, bringing into critical focus the state of politics—and politicians—in today's Bangladesh.
For example, according to the TIB, the 2024 election is set to witness the highest number of candidates with movable or liquid assets of at least Tk 1 crore in recent history. From 274 in 2008 election and 522 in 2018 election, the number of such candidates has surged to 571 this time around. Unsurprisingly, the ruling Awami League has seen the highest surge: in 2008, 28 percent of its candidates had such wealth, which has now ballooned to 86.96 percent—constituting 235 of its 286 nominees. Moreover, the TIB report identified 18 candidates possessing assets worth over Tk 100 crore, and some possessing over Tk 200-300 crore. Some ministers and lawmakers have also seen astronomical increases in their wealth with percentages ranging from several hundred to thousands!
Unfortunately, the picture that has emerged of the financial health of candidates may only be the tip of the iceberg, as the TIB has only reviewed their movable or liquid assets, not real estates. Add to that the gross undervaluation of assets by some, presumably to evade taxes, and the tendency of not disclosing all assets, as in the case of a minister who allegedly concealed information about UK-based businesses valued at Tk 2,312 crore. All this is deeply troubling.
While having wealth itself cannot be reason enough to disqualify a candidate, the massive surge in their wealth as well as number raises critical concerns about the widening economic disparity in society, fair electoral representation, and corruption in politics. Affidavits submitted by the candidates should thus be thoroughly examined to check potential irregularities. Unfortunately, the relevant authorities, including the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, and National Board of Revenue, have yet to signal their readiness to do so. This must change. While one cannot expect much from an election that the opposition camp has already boycotted, these candidates, many among them potential lawmakers, have a big task at hands, and their honesty and integrity to serve the public must be judged for the sake of our future.
In my last column preceding BNP's October 28 rally, I said that the day would be important for both the main opposition and the ruling Awami League, and the party getting the upper hand in the rally would be ahead in the upcoming general election. After the rally, it became crystal clear that the ruling party got the upper hand, while the opposition faced a setback as it had not been prepared for the violence that unfolded on the day, driving the BNP members away from the rally venue. There is no doubt that the country is heading towards a long-drawn confrontational politics ahead of the election. True, the rival camps were already at loggerheads, but the situation just worsened after the fateful rally.
Let's look at the opposition camp first. BNP, which has remained out of power for 17 years, has been holding rallies and road marches in Dhaka and around the country peacefully as part of its anti-government campaign for the last one and a half years, drawing increasingly large crowds. Until the grand rally in Nayapaltan, Dhaka on October 28, the party was successful in keeping its street programmes peaceful—despite provocative rhetoric from some AL leaders and non-cooperation from the law enforcers. Throughout the non-violent movement, BNP was also able to distance itself from the violent street programmes that it had launched before the 2014 election. At the time, the party faced severe criticism at home and abroad for mindless violence and arson attacks, killing and injuring many, to foil the election. However, throughout its current movement, BNP high-ups announced their street agitation programmes very carefully, and were able to keep their activists in check during demonstrations.
But it suffered a setback as the October 28 rally suddenly turned violent, leaving a policeman and a BNP leader dead, and injuring scores more, as campaigners clashed with the police. The day also saw a return of vandalism and arson attacks on vehicles. Could this violence have been averted? I think it most certainly could have. BNP leaders should have had more of the restraint and patience that they had shown earlier. Media reports said BNP men attacked AL activists, and then police and the Awami League men went on to disperse the BNP members from the rally. The police's role was questionable from the beginning, since they were instrumental in barring thousands of BNP activists from entering Dhaka to attend the rally.
This violence triggered BNP to go for the typical hartals and blockades. Many of the party leaders said they had no option but to toughen up their programmes as their peaceful rallies had not been effective. The government did not pay heed to their demands at all, so it was inevitable that at one point BNP would have to employ tougher measures such as general strikes and blockades to bring life to a halt. But it had intended to do that much later, if at all; what happened on October 28 forced its hand. Regardless, given how the current regime has everything under its iron-fisted control, BNP's chances of success in having its demands realised appear to be very slim.
The more interesting point concerns Jamaat-e-Islami. It did not get permission to hold a rally. The media reported that police would be very tough if Jamaat made any such attempts. But we saw that Jamaat held it peacefully and police did not obstruct it. Why Jamaat was allowed to have a rally is not clear. True, Jamaat is not a banned political party. But how were they allowed to hold it without permission? The curious case of Jamaat may answer many questions regarding BNP's violent rally.
The ruling Awami League is upbeat after the rally. Although very few ruling party members took to the streets on the rally day, they were there carrying sticks. Police and the ruling party men were on the streets to contain the BNP and Jamaat. But then, that is not quite the role of the ruling party men, is it? One must ask: who gave the AL men the authority to guard the streets with sticks? If they have to take to the streets to protect public property, what are the police supposed to do? This trend is nothing new in Bangladesh's politics, though; it seems to have become the norm.
One can assume that after the October 28 rally, the ruling party is feeling relieved about the upcoming election, and will possibly be unchallenged in the battle for the ballot. BNP has been saying that it will not take part in the election if it is held under the current regime, but the way BNP is cornered with most of its senior leaders on the run or in custody, it is almost impossible for the party to join the polls anyway.
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has warned the BNP against tough programmes. Referring to what happened at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka on May 5, 2013, he said the consequences would be far worse for the BNP. Addressing a massive rally of AL's youth wing at Bangabandhu Avenue on Monday afternoon, he said, "What happened at Shapla Chattar that night? Didn't they flee? Didn't they run away? I do not want to say it, but BNP will have a more tragic end. Sheikh Hasina does not bow down and fears no one except Allah."
It is unfortunate for a nation that it could not devise an election strategy that would ensure a safe and peaceful transfer of power and ensure people's voting rights after five decades of independence. It's a matter of shame for us, and our politicians are to blame for this. Many people asked me who won in the October 28 rally. In reply, I said no matter who won, it's the people who lost.
Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is chief reporter at The Daily Star.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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