EC must investigate allegations

The face-off between the Chief Election Commissioner and the Jatiya Oikyafront delegation that ensued during a meeting on Tuesday is regrettable. The delegation met with the CEC to apprise him of allegations about police playing a partisan role ahead of the election. What transpired afterwards, from what we've learned from media reports, was unwarranted. The CEC and Dr Kamal Hossain, leader of the Oikyafront, reportedly engaged in a heated argument with the former defending the police in a manner that the alliance leaders called "biased" and "discourteous". In the fitness of things, the appropriate course of action for the CEC would have been to assure the opposition of investigating the allegations rather than dismissing them outright. The CEC happens to be the last resort for the aggrieved parties at this time, and the reality is that there is mounting evidence to support those allegations.

It's understandable that the job of a CEC is not an easy one. Given the highly divisive political climate in our country, patience on his part should be the necessary virtue. He should not act or react in a manner that might be construed as being unfair to one party or the other. Matters should be decided neutrally and proactively in the end, based on the EC's own investigations. Unfortunately, the EC has not been able to ensure a level playing field as yet for all the parties, and has repeatedly made itself the subject of controversies by its unwillingness to acknowledge the reality on the ground. It is the EC's responsibility to deliver a fair election and the failure to do so will be its alone.