It is heartening to see that the media has been preparing statements based on the information in affidavits submitted by the candidates who are running for parliament. This requirement of submitting affidavits came from a ruling by the high court bench led by Justice Abdul Matin in 2005. The judgement required the candidates running for parliament to submit eight kinds of information with their nomination papers. These include their educational qualifications, criminal records, and assets, income and liabilities of both themselves and their dependents.

The court also directed the Election Commission to disseminate this information so that the people could use it to make informed decisions in casting their votes. The EC, however, failed to disseminate that information. We, on behalf of SHUJAN, have been disseminating this information through the media by preparing comparative statements for each constituency. We also thwarted the sinister efforts by an imposter named Abu Safa who, using false information, tried to overturn the high court judgement.

This idea of disclosure of information about the candidates in the form of affidavits has a history. In 2002, in Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms [2002 (3) SCC], the Indian supreme court gave a seminal judgement in which it stated that the right to know about public officials is derived from the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

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Of the AL, for the AL, and by the AL

In a second case, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India [2003 (4) SCC], the Supreme Court of India further emphasised the importance of disclosure of antecedents. Using this information, the court opined, the voters could decide whether they would vote for A or B. The court further said that if you don't want to turn democracy into a farce, you have to give the voters this right to have information about the background of the candidates. Bangladesh's judgement of 2005 followed these seminal judgments of the Indian supreme court.

There have been numerous efforts in our country to thwart this judgement. For example, in 2013 there were four city corporation elections: Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet. In the previous election, held in 2007, the Awami League mayoral candidates won and the BNP candidates lost. The same candidates ran again in 2013. We compared the affidavits submitted by the same candidates in both elections to see what happened to their income and wealth. What we found was that the income and wealth of the incumbent mayors, who were elected in 2007, skyrocketed. And the wealth and income of those who didn't win in 2007 either remained the same or declined. Thus, it became clear that getting elected was like getting an Aladdin's lamp in one's hands. In other words, anyone occupying an elected office is able to mint money and get rich. We held a press conference to disseminate our findings. In response, Awami League sent a letter to the EC saying that we had defamed them using concocted information. This allegation was totally false as we used the information disclosed by candidates in their affidavits sworn before a magistrate. It should be noted that including false information in an affidavit, sworn before a magistrate, is a criminal offence under section 181 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Yet, we were accused of using misinformation with the intention of defaming the candidates.

The biggest attack came from Sayed Ashraful Islam, the general secretary of Awami League. In 2014, according to a Prothom Alo report, he said that the affidavits have become the tools of character assassination of politicians. Clearly, these were efforts to do away with the requirement of disclosing antecedents by candidates in the form of affidavits. But they forgot one extremely important detail. The demand for disclosures came from the Awami League itself. On July 15, 2005, Sheikh Hasina, the then leader of the opposition, said in a press conference that the candidates must submit her/his own and their dependants' wealth information with their nomination papers. Additionally, they would have to declare if they have any personal stake in any economic activities of the government. She also demanded that those who lied or provided misinformation in their affidavit face strict legal consequences. However, this was not the only instance when Awami League reiterated the importance of disclosure of antecedents of powerful individuals including MPs.

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Politicians’ wealth surge and why nations fail

Before the 2008 parliamentary election, Awami League published its famous election manifesto, Dinbodoler Sanad (Charter for Change), in which it promised to regularly disclose the wealth statements of all powerful people in the government. But unfortunately, the ruling party and the government didn't keep their commitment.

The EC has also not been verifying the information submitted by the candidates. There are widespread allegations of concealing or providing concocted information in the affidavits. A recent newspaper report indicates that at least nine of the ministers didn't declare their dependents' wealth in their affidavits. Notwithstanding the hiding of information, the skyrocketing of income and wealth shown in the affidavits of candidates who are running for the upcoming election reflect an obscene display of riches when many citizens are struggling to make ends meet.

One prime example of a candidate hiding information is Barrister Shahjahan Omar, who went to jail as a senior leader of BNP, then got bail to join Awami League and run for the upcoming election with the boat symbol. He appears to have hidden information about his wealth. More seriously, he did not disclose information about the cases under which he was arrested and bailed. For such non-disclosure, his nomination paper should be declared invalid under section 12(3)(b) of The Representation of the People Order, 1972. However, both the returning officer and the EC cleared Barrister Omar's nomination, allowing him to contest in the election to be held on January 7. Here didn't both the returning officer and the EC violate the law in validating Barrister Omar's nomination paper?

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The facade of a competitive election

In the last few decades, a lot of people have become very rich in our country, mostly through illegal means. They are now trying to "buy" political power by becoming MPs using their ill-gotten money. As a result, over two-thirds of our MPs are now businessmen who have been trying to further their interests using government power. Many of them also hide information in their affidavits. Entry of many of these self-interested individuals to our electoral arena could be blocked if the EC would take the requirement of the submission of affidavits seriously and thoroughly scrutinise them. Unfortunately, despite our repeated efforts, we have not been able to convince the EC to scrutinise the affidavits and disqualify those who hide or submit false information in their affidavits. If the commission lacks capacity to scrutinise the affidavits, they can use the help of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Bureau of Revenue for this purpose.

The format for the affidavit developed before the 2008 elections has some serious limitations. We updated the format and shared it with the EC, but received no positive response from the commission. We hope the EC will take it seriously and revise the format and apply it vigorously. We urge it to do its part to clean up our electoral arena by turning the halafnama into amalnama for candidates running for office.

Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar is secretary of SHUJAN: Citizens for Good Governance.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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We appreciate what appears to be the first sign of flexibility in the administration about forming a poll-time government ahead of the national election. The prime minister on Monday hinted that a poll-time government with parties having representation in parliament could be formed. By the same logic, however, she rejected the possibility of the BNP, whose MPs had resigned from parliament last December, being a part of it. She also ruled out any dialogue with BNP as it leads a nationwide anti-government movement.

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Without support from bureaucracy, EC can’t hold fair elections

There are a number of takeaways from the PM's statement. First of all, the apparent willingness to bring opposition elements in the government marks a departure from the bellicose posturing that we have come to expect from ruling-party politicians. But that hardly rises to the level expected in the present environment of distrust, with BNP edged out of the process on a technicality. Also, the PM's tone, alluding to "our generosity" for forming such a government, leaves doubt about how impactful it might be. One thing that we don't want to see is token representation without real power.

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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Who runs the country?

Secondly, BNP remains the biggest opposition party regardless of its representation or lack thereof in parliament. So, how judicious is it to exclude it from a potential poll-time government or any dialogue on said government and the election in general? Dialogue at the top level may not be on the cards right now, but mid-ranked leaders from both parties can, and should, start the process. Dialogue is essential for any solution to the current political impasse.

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Is the EC fighting an unwinnable war?

Thirdly, formation of a poll-time government is but a means to an end, which is to ensure that those in charge have the trust of all political elements and the general public so that they can deliver a fair and credible election. So how should that government be formed? The PM offers a way, but it cannot be the only way. Any poll-time government without the representation of main political elements will not solve the pressing issues we face. Also, how will it perform? Will it be unidimensional where everything is decided from the top, as it is now? These things must be considered going forward.

As the chief election commissioner repeated on Monday, the commission alone cannot hold a fair election without the help of the government. Without taking away from the responsibility of the EC, we think that some sort of a credible power structure in the driving seat is a crucial precondition for any fair election.

Observation by local and foreign observers may help add credence to the status of fairness of election and make them credible at home and abroad, the chief election commissioner (CEC) said in a letter to the EU.

CEC Kazi Habibul Awal was responding to a letter sent by the European Union informing him of its decision not to send a full-fledged observation mission for Bangladesh's upcoming national election.

"As I appreciate EU decision on the subject, I feel urged to assure you that with required assistance received from the government, Election Commission (EC) will exert its best to ensure free, fair, participatory and credible elections. Government is also repeatedly making its pledges to achieve this end," the CEC said in the letter dated September 23.

"Nevertheless, observation by local and foreign observers may help add credence to the status of fairness of election so as to make that credible at home and abroad.

"Be that as it may, I believe the European Union (EU) will nonetheless continue to support, in whatever way deemed expedient, our efforts in making the ensuing general parliamentary elections free, fair, participatory and credible," the letter added.

EU communicated its decision to the EC through a letter to the chief election commissioner on Wednesday.

"Based on the recommendations of the exploratory mission -- and taking into consideration the budget for EU Election Observation Missions for 2023/2024 -- High Representative Josep Borrell has decided not to deploy a fully-fledged EU Election Observation Mission," read the EU letter.

"The High Representative's decision reflects the fact that, at the present time, it is not sufficiently clear whether the necessary conditions will be met at the point in time when the elections take place," read the letter written by EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley.

As the country gears up for the 12th parliamentary election, it is disheartening to see the landscape marred by laminated and polythene-coated posters, despite a ban on their use by the Election Commission. The problem has been especially prevalent in Dhaka which has been plastered with such posters mostly by ruling party candidates, and to a lesser degree by independents and candidates from smaller parties. The plastic coating is apparently used to protect posters from being ruined by fog. But that doesn't justify breaching a ban meant to reduce the environmental cost of election campaigning.

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It’s time for election campaigns to go green

The proliferation of such posters, however, is but part of a wider concern about environmental degradation in conventional campaigns. Besides plastic pollution, candidates have also been seen using high-volume microphones and loud music across the city, causing discomfort to the public, especially vulnerable groups like the sick, children, and the elderly. The wide distribution of promotional materials like caps and leaflets, which are invariably thrown away, or irresponsible use of disposable items like cups and plates by supporters is also posing a threat to the health of the city.

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Voters without choice are just glorified dummies

This is totally unacceptable. Candidates, many among them future lawmakers, are expected to lead by example, not encourage or be themselves engaged in breaching environmental regulations. Unfortunately, despite having the scope for alternative, modern campaigning practices using digital platforms, our politicians still seem to prefer conventional methods of public engagement. According to a study by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), the 2020 mayoral election in Dhaka saw the use of a staggering 340 million plastic-coated posters. The number could double this time, the ESDO warns. During a visit to a number of constituencies in Dhaka, our reporter saw plastic-coated posters being used indiscriminately.

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A Potemkin election in Bangladesh?

Who will take responsibility for the environmental repercussions of such actions? Why is the Election Commission failing to prevent them, or punish non-compliant candidates and parties? Experts talked about the importance of including the ban on plastic use in campaigns, imposed on December 25, in the electoral code of conduct. While this may be the appropriate thing to do, the fact is, without proper enforcement, no amount of lawmaking is good enough. While we expect the EC, particularly returning officers, to play an effective role in ensuring compliance of electoral rules, it is the candidates who must recognise their responsibility in this regard and ensure environmentally friendly campaigning practices.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today held talks with Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Kader Siddique and discussed different issues including the country’s contemporary political affairs.

Later, Nazmul Huda, former minister of BNP-Jamaat-led government, met Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, and held discussion on the same issues, sources said.

“Kader Siddique came to our office around 3:30pm and talked to Obaidul Quader for around half an hour,” Abu Naser, senior information officer of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, told The Daily Star this evening.

In 1999, Kader Siddiqui was expelled from Awami League and after the expulsion, he resigned from parliament and formed his own party Krishak Sramik Janata League.

Later, former BNP leader Nazmul Huda, also the chief of Bangladesh National Alliance (BNA), met Quader at his ministry office around 4:00pm and stayed there for around half an hour, Naser said.

However, the information officer could not say anything about the matter of discussions.

Quader is now passing very busy days in trying to expand the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance ahead of the upcoming general elections late this year or early next year.

According to sources, talks among the country’s top politicians were held to expand the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance.

“Talks over the matter were being held and more talks will be held,” the sources said without clarifying any further details.

Contacted, Kader Siddique denied making any comment in this regard.

Sources said the BNA is mulling to hold a programme marking the National Mourning Day on August 15, the day when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members were brutally assassinated by a disgruntled group of army officers in 1975.

Huda met Quader and requested him to attend the programme as the chief guest, the sources added.

Earlier, the AL general secretary on Tuesday went to the office of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) in the capital's Old Paltan area and exchanged greetings with the party leaders present there.

During the brief conversation, the CPB general secretary told Quader that they launched a platform of eight left leaning parties to strengthen the alternative political force against bad politics.

On July 22, eight parties -- Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), Bangladesher Biplobi Workers Party, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Marxist), Gana Sanghati Andalon, Bangladesher United Communist League, Ganatantrik Biplobi Party and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Andalon -- launched a new platform under the banner of “Left Democratic Alliance (LDA)”.

The ruling AL and its principal political opposition BNP are now engaged in hatching efforts to include the newly formed platform of the left leaning parties in their respective camps to gain victory in the next general election.

Besides, the alliance leaders said that no election will be free and fair under the current regime, and they launched the new platform in a bid to wage a movement against farcical polls.

They also said it will not be possible to ensure a level-playing field if the current parliament is not dissolved.