Voters, election officials worried
The news of the army not being deployed during the Narayanganj City Corporation polls triggered doubts among the voters yesterday about a free and fair election on October 30.
As the drama unfolded in the morning, worried election officials were found frantically dialling their high-ups in Dhaka trying to know why the army did not reach there as per earlier announcement.
“I have just received a formal complaint from Shamim Osman, one of the frontrunners in the vote race, in which his unnamed sources warned about a militant attack in Narayanganj. How can I not be worried?” said Returning Officer (RO) Lutfur Rahman at his temporary election office in Chashara around 11:00am.
At around 6:30pm when the chief election commissioner announced that the Election Commission (EC) could not deploy the army due to non-cooperation from the government, hundreds of people from different areas including Chashara, Balur Math and Deovog took to the street demanding army personnel to prevent armed hoodlums from rigging votes. Late in the evening, around 300 people, each brandishing a shoe in hand, brought out another procession in the metropolis.
Although the EC had earlier pledged reinforcement of Rab and police, people grew more and more suspicious about that too. Never in the history of elections in Bangladesh had any government defied the EC's decision after a formal announcement.
A businessman from Chashara said if the army is not there during the election, hoodlums and opportunists would definitely rig votes. Many others alleged that it was a deliberate act of sabotage for vote rigging.
Considering the vulnerability and widespread demand for security in the polls, the EC on October 16 formally announced the deployment of the army to patrol the metropolis area. On the same day, the EC Secretariat sent a letter to the Armed Forces Division seeking to deploy the army as strike and mobile forces from early morning of October 28 to 11:00pm on November 1.
According to the constitution, “It shall be the duty of all executive authorities to assist the EC in the discharge of its functions. According to local Government (City Corporation law) law enforcement agencies including police, armed police battalion, Rab, ansar, Battalion ansar, Border Guard Bangladesh, Coast Guard and the Defence Services of Bangladesh will remain under the authority of EC."
A businessman from Tanbazar area said, “It is hard to believe that the army will not be here during the polls. Many voters will not even show up at poll centres due to this.”
According to another businessman, the government has not only violated the country's law but also undermined an institution like the EC through such non-cooperation.
Earlier, the BNP-backed mayoral candidate Taimur Alam Khandaker, who was also worried about the news, cut short his last day campaigning and rushed to the RO's office. He told the RO that the EC had decided to deploy the army as Narayanganj is highly vulnerable to terrorism. “We shall hold the EC responsible if anything goes wrong,” he said.
In her reaction, another popular mayor aspirant Selina Hayat Ivy said, “I am not dependent on the army vigilance, but the people. However, we shall hold the EC responsible for any trouble in the elections.”
On the other hand, AL-backed mayor candidate Shamim Osman kept from making any comment on the issue.
The RO said his office is ready to hold the election on October 30. "All ballot boxes, EVMs, staffs and security personnel from police, Rab, Ansar and plainclothes forces have been deployed to ensure a peaceful election.
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