Election sans democracy

AL has finally been successful in its increasingly desperate attempts to reverse the trend of losing to BNP-led 19 party alliance candidates in upazila elections. The way this success has been attained surely gives one a feeling that it may be a victory for AL but, obviously, one more defeat for the government and ultimately for our democracy. The arithmetic of the fourth phase of upazila elections clearly validates this apprehension: 4 killed, at least 250 injured, elections boycotted by BNP-supported candidates in 21 upazilas out of 91, polling in 32 centres suspended and numerous events of capturing of polling centres, snatching and stuffing of ballot boxes. The arithmetic also shows the inherent weaknesses of the election system under the political government given the level of maturity of our political culture.
In our winner-takes-all system, electoral fraud and violence have been institutionalised to ensure election victory. In this reality, election under political government only creates scopes for the ruling party to use the state machineries in strangulating functioning of a credible election system. It gives birth to a patron-client electoral system where the nexus between political actors and established  state and non-state actors such as election administration, law enforcing agencies , businesses and crime syndicates contributes to electoral stakeholders' moving outside the legal system to secure power and privilege. In our case, it is widely reported that in many instances even election administration officials are themselves stuffing ballot boxes. They themselves become purveyors of violence rather than protectors of sanctity of elections.
In this situation, electoral violence becomes inevitable, either by the ruling party to threaten opposition not to interfere in its clean sweep or by opposition forces to ensure their share of the cake by creating violent resistance to ruling party and state nexus or disrupting the election process. This analysis is clearly evident in our cases of electoral violence.  
It becomes frustrating when the ruling party and its leaders deny this vicious reality and find the most violent phase of upazila election the most peaceful one. They rather want to pursue a don't-disturb mood by vilifying dissenting voices than taking action against their own party men who are found to be the perpetrators in most cases. It creates apprehension in any concerned citizen whether the ruling party is establishing stability at the expense of democracy.
AL itself has weakened its claim of holding free and fair election under a political government. And we, general people, are feeling most pressingly the need for an independent Election Commission and neutral election time government to ensure a democratic future.

The writer is Sr. Editorial Assistant, The Daily Star.
E-mail: [email protected]