The ruling Awami League today nominated former ACC commissioner and freedom fighter Mohammed Shahabuddin as the party's presidential candidate.

An AL delegation, led by the party's General Secretary Obaidul Quader, submitted the nomination papers at the Election Commission this morning.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, informed reporters about the development after submitting the papers.

The ruling party's nominee will be the next president of the country as no other political party which has representation in the parliament is going to propose any name for the presidential election, and the ruling party has a brute majority in the parliament.

Out of 350 parliamentary seats, the AL currently has 302, while main opposition Jatiya Party has 26. The Workers Party has four seats; Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh and Gono Forum have two each; Bangladesh Tarikat Federation and Jatiya Party (Manju) have a single seat each; and three remaining seats are occupied by independents.

Shahabuddin was also with the delegation team. After the nomination was filed he said that he has no immediate reaction.

"Everything was done in line with Almightily Allah's will," he said.

The last time for submission of nominations is till 4:00pm today. If none other than Shahabuddin is nominated till then, the Election commission will be able to announce him as the president elect if his nomination papers are found to be valid following scrutiny of forms tomorrow, EC officails said.

The presidential election is scheduled for February 19, but it will take place only if there is more than one candidate.  

Although the post of the president is mostly ceremonial -- they are to act as per the advice of the prime minister, except when appointing the premier and the chief justice -- it takes on some significance during polls-time given his say in issuing directives to help the Election Commission function effectively.

According to section 5 (2) of the Representation of the People's Order, 1972, all executive authorities of the government shall assist the EC in the performance of its functions, and for this purpose, the president may, after consultation with the commission, issue such directions as they may deem necessary.

The tenure of Hamid, the longest serving president of the country, will expire on April 23, and according to the constitution, there is no scope for his re-election.

Article 50 (2) of the constitution reads that no person shall hold office as president for more than two terms, whether or not the terms are consecutive.

Hamid was appointed acting president of Bangladesh on March 14, 2013, while then president Zillur Rahman was in hospital in Singapore. Zillur died six days later.

Hamid was then elected unopposed as president on April 22, 2013, and was sworn into office two days later. On February 7, 2018, he was re-elected unopposed for a second term.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal's comment defending the recent amendment of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) seems to be well-synchronised with the government's narrative. Brushing aside experts' criticisms for losing some of its crucial regulatory powers, the CEC said, "No authority of the Election Commission has been abolished with the amendment; it has been consolidated."

If the CEC's assertion that no authority has been curtailed is true, then one may ask: what warranted them to seek legal authority for cancelling elections of an entire constituency in the event of widespread violation of electoral rules? Experts have merely pointed out that the authority that the Election Commission sought was already there, and they even applied that power in suspending voting of the entire constituency of Gaibandha-5 during its by-polls last year. Following the new amendment, the EC will no longer be able to cancel or suspend voting of an entire constituency, let alone the election process, prior to the polling day, except in the event of a candidate's demise.

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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Politics at crossroads

CEC Awal now says, "…the government has not revised the RPO. They did as per our proposal. The government has agreed to the amendments sought by the Election Commission to make the latter's position more consolidated and strengthened. It has increased our power." Here is a reminder about what Law Minister Anisul Huq told lawmakers in concluding the parliamentary debate before passing the bill. He, too, said the RPO amendment would not curtail the EC's power, but termed the EC's power to suspend polling in the entirety of a constituency "undemocratic."

The law minister's argument was based on the assumption that suspending voting in an entire constituency if violence or irregularities took place in only a few polling centres amounted to taking away the peoples' right to vote. Unfortunately, past experience tells us that due to the nature of our political rivalry, rampant irregularities on election days have become a norm in our country. The CEC's refusal to recognise this change as curtailment of the EC's power is deeply problematic.

There have been some woeful examples of the current EC's inability, such as their failure in taking action against a member of parliament belonging to the ruling party for defying their order during the Cumilla city polls last year. When there were empowering rules, the EC failed to enforce them appropriately, but now wilful relinquishment of some authority makes us wonder how they can claim they are prepared to ensure a free and fair parliamentary election.

His explanation about replacing the word "election" with "polling" as a clerical correction is also quite strange. To lighten the significance of this alteration, he says, "Clerical correction is just correction," which is legally untenable. In the RPO, there's a legal definition, though scanty, of election – Article 2 (vii) – but "polling" remains undefined. Generally, it is accepted that polling means the activity on the day of the vote, but election denotes the entire process. The RPO defines the election as "election to a seat of a member held under this Order."

In the world of legal jargons, too, polling doesn't equate to election. Oxford Constitutional Law says, "An election is a process by which citizens are called to choose representatives to adopt important decisions in their interest, according to the principle of political representation, and to decide on specific matters." In contrast, "poll" or "polling" refers to either 1) the process of voting, 2) the place where the voting is conducted, or 3) the result of the voting, according to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell School of Law.

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Why tie up EC’s hands further?

I have argued before that setting the rules of the game should follow settling the ongoing political dispute between the two main contending parties, as experiences between 1991 and 2009 show that such accords reduce violence and irregularities. Political consensus provided the basis that helped with the enforcement of code of conduct and limited, to some extent, vote-buying and influence of black money. But the EC's rush in revising the RPO meant allowing the ruling party to impose their wish in the codification process. And the result is not only the weakening of the EC's authority, but relaxing of rules such as extending extra facilities to loan defaulters.

The incumbent EC often claims that they have successfully conducted several elections during their tenure of over one year. But it belies the fact that most of those elections were intra-party contests of the ruling Awami League, as their main challenger, the BNP, stayed away from the elections, expressing no-confidence in the EC. There have been some woeful examples of the current EC's inability, such as their failure in taking action against a member of parliament belonging to the ruling party for defying their order during the Cumilla city polls last year. When there were empowering rules, the EC failed to enforce them appropriately, but now wilful relinquishment of some authority makes us wonder how they can claim they are prepared to ensure a free and fair parliamentary election.

There's no doubt that the 15th amendment of the constitution and the ruling party's insistence on constitutionalism have left the EC effectively helpless. The arbitrary enactment of the 15th amendment meant not only the abolition of the caretaker government system for holding general elections, it also kept alive the parliament, leaving the EC powerless against privileges claimed by MPs. In a sense, the CEC was right when he said the EC did not dig their own grave, because it's the government which is in charge of the graveyard. But the EC certainly has taken the hope of a free, fair and democratic election one step closer to the grave.

Kamal Ahmed is an independent journalist. His Twitter handle is @ahmedka1

Bangladesh is once again at a crossroads. The country needs the upcoming parliamentary election to be a free, well-participated election to restore its credentials. It is time to choose our representatives again and to transfer not power, but responsibility, to them peacefully so that we can return to the task of self-governance. Are we ready for the task?

At the mature age of 52 and with no stable system of electoral governance and transfer of power in sight, Bangladesh is reeling under internal turmoil, external pressures, and an irresponsible and immature political leadership.

Our politics has been traumatic. After the return to democracy in 1991, our political journey towards parliamentary democracy over the past 32 years demonstrates behavioural patterns in ruling and opposing parties that have mired the possibilities of healthy politics for a culture of a "sane" society that could have been a green ground to grow and nurture democracy. Instead, it has been ruthlessly trampled upon, turning into a waste land where nothing but hatred can grow. Today, on the eve of our 12th parliamentary election, we witness an ongoing battle for the highest seat of governance where all decisions are made, with the parties convinced that if you cannot keep your grip on your streets, you are unseated!

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Can the judiciary be free from politicisation?

Based on these political premises, the streets are more important than the parliament, the kingsmen are more important than the judiciary, an army of sycophants and loyalists are far more important than voters!

So why should a political party elected to power build democratic institutions? It does not support the "street ideology." And why should a political party in opposition not do everything to obstruct the smooth functioning of parliament? Well, it does not comply with the "street dictum." They all choose the streets to be their seat of governance. Hence all political parties, big or small, have the same political ideology. And if you cannot join or support the skirmishing sides, it does not matter for whom you vote; you may not reach the polling booth, but some kind individual may make sure that you are not "disenfranchised." Isn't that nice? The system works. No one is left behind. Just like it happened in 2018.

There is no doubt that to win an election, we need to have "street wisdom," an endless flow of money, and an army of loyalists.

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Column by Mahfuz Anam: Poisoned rhetoric and public concerns

No one can beat the ruling party when it comes to street wisdom. With decades of experience, they are the maestro of street agitations – they have won many battles on the streets. The endless flow of money is no problem. The parliament is now at the centre of our business world and in the hands of our business tycoons. Free market policy allows them free access to our reserves. The problem of money has been solved. 

As for the growing loyalists, opposition parties provide an additional force. They break into splinter groups headed by "tribal chieftains" who are satisfied with a few crumbs from the pie. They form the much needed "trusted" opposition. That, too, is done.

And in all this, where does the Election Commission (EC) stand? With the Administration and Home still beyond its control and an RPO that reduces its powers, and an unrelenting political grip over its functioning, the EC is in a state of limbo – dangling in thin air, watching from above as the street fights continue.

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Will we see a free, fair election after all?

The street fights will take lives, as they have done in the past. It will hurt vulnerable voters and "those who do not belong." Fear of losing power and a backlash, and the existential fear of not getting to power, are tearing the political parties apart. All sides have to work to reduce fear in the others. The prognosis is the "coming of a new tragedy." 

But it need not be so if they leave the streets – if the parties come to the table to talk and concede on an all-party approach, as they did in 1991 and again in 2008. We, the tired people of Bangladesh, are waiting for our political parties to put behind an era of hatred and violence, and embrace compassion and forgiveness, so that this nation can move forward free from the prison of the past.

Sharmeen S Murshid is an election analyst and chief executive officer of Brotee, a civil society organisation.

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

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The Election Commission's biometric verification system--which is needed for selling mobile phone connections--has become active again after around 55 hours.

Mobile network operators said the service restored at around at 3am today. The problem started at around 8:30pm on June 18.

Earlier, people have not been able to purchase SIMs and related services over the last two days as mobile phone operators have been unable to verify buyer's information.

On June 19, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh sent a letter to the EC requesting to resolve the issue.

Such an outage affected SIM activation, replacement and other biometric verification-related services, said officials of the telecom operators.

Some maintenance works are ongoing and many are facing problems in getting access to the server, said AKM Humayun Kabir, director general for the national identity wing at the EC, earlier yesterday.

According to technology experts, experiencing such a prolonged outage is improbable and reflects unprofessionalism.

We are deeply disappointed that what we feared has ultimately prevailed—an election timetable announced by the Election Commission (EC) in the glaring absence of a consensus among the major political parties over polls-time government. As the Awami League and its allies brought out celebratory processions all over the country, BNP and allies rejected the schedule, while the Left Democratic Alliance as well as the Gonotontro Moncho also denounced what they believe would be a sham of an election. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal may well hope that the upcoming polls will be "free and fair, impartial, participatory… credible and praised at home and abroad," but we would be living in a fool's paradise if we believed that such a scenario is possible under these strained circumstances.

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Are the ‘ghost’ cases fooling anyone?

Following the controversial elections of 2014—in AL won 153 seats uncontested—and in 2018—in which widespread irregularities and ballot stuffing took place—there have been repeated calls at home as well as from outside to hold a credible election. The government, unfortunately, seems to believe that holding an election under any circumstances is a "win" for the ruling party, wilfully ignoring that another discredited election will do irreparable damage to its own image and destroy whatever remains of our democratic institutions and aspirations. In the lead-up to the election, when it should have demonstrated its commitment to the democratic process, including upholding the opposition's constitutional right to freedom of assembly, the Awami League chose the path of retribution, arresting over 10,000 BNP activists and leaders, many on false or trumped-up charges. These actions, alongside the incendiary rhetoric from the top leaders of the party, have foreclosed any possibility of a dialogue.

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Are we doomed to repeat past mistakes?

BNP, on the other hand, has also remained stubborn in its refusal to even attend a dialogue unless its one-point demand for the resignation of the government is met. Such an uncompromising stance, however legitimate the party may have felt its demand was, has not borne fruit and instead led it to a point of no return. At least 117 vehicles have been burnt all over the country from October 28 till November 15—during its blockade programme—and even if it claims to have played no part in the arson attacks and violence, it must ultimately realise the trap it is setting for itself by going down its chosen path. As a party that professes to speak for the people, it also should not ignore the loss of lives and livelihoods of people during the worst economic downturn the country has faced in decades.

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Rights of prison inmates must be upheld

Even the CEC himself, in his televised speech to the nation, has admitted that if conflict and violence take place due to differences, instability can be created, which will have a negative impact on the election process. He must also realise that calling upon voters to go to the polling stations with "enthusiasm, courage, and confidence" during such a political climate is mere rhetoric. The CEC has once again urged for dialogue among the major political parties—a call which we wholeheartedly endorse.

However, the EC cannot simply put the blame on the parties for not attending dialogues without playing an active role in ensuring a level playing field for all. Thus far, the EC has maintained that its hands are tied regarding the mass arrests of the opposition until the announcement of the schedule. Can we now finally expect it to play its due role? If it wants the confidence of the major political parties, especially the opposition, the EC, whose track record is questionable at best, must do the hard work itself. After two consecutive controversial elections of 2014 and 2018, Bangladesh simply cannot afford another discredited election.