BD Correspondent:

Campaigners for fair election on 24 November, expressed doubts whether the Election Commission would be able to hold free, fair, contested and credible elections as it’s not exercising its authority over the administration in the run up to the general election.

Speaking at seminar on ‘Electoral Politics and the People’s right to Vote,’ they said the hasty and adamant decision to use Electronic Voting Machines in the elections also made the people suspicious about EC’s willingness to hold credible elections on December 30.

Center for Governance Study organized the seminar at the BIISS Auditorium.
In his keynote paper, former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain said that many questions were creeping in the minds of the citizens, common non-partisan folks and the voters in particular as the polls came closer.
‘The key question is will the election be credible or flawed or a failed one as it happened in 2014?’ he asked.

‘In the backdrop of the bitter experience of 2014 and the prevailing uncertainties surrounding the political scenario the other question haunting the common folks is whether or not the election would inclusive or at all a contested one? Will the results reflect the wish of the voters? Will voters be able to cast their votes for the candidates they choose?’ asked Sakhawat.
He criticized the EC for its ‘hasty’ and ‘rigid decision’ to use EVMs in the polls saying that these factors made the people suspicious about the EC’s intentions.

Sakhawat said that the country needed a political party law to make the parties behave responsibly and there should be a permanent legal framework for forming the Election Commission to end political deadlocks over holding elections.

Speaking as chief guest, Supreme Court lawyer M Amir-ul Islam said the political party in power gets so powerful that it could control the administration, the law enforcement agencies and even the election commission officials.

‘Our history says election brought freedom of our people. So I will urge the EC and the political parties to let the people enjoy the election,’ he said.
He also criticized the EC’s move to use EVM in the election.

‘Will the EVMs be able to improve the quality of the election? Will it empower the voters? But the move is on to promote EVMs,’ he said.

Former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin Khan said there was persistent fears whether or not the election would be at all fair.
‘But the EC’s activities about holding fair elections are not at all satisfactory,’ he said.

The doubts are that either the EC had no capability to hold fair elections or it lacks the will for holding fair polls, he said.

‘The EC is not exercising its inherent authority over the government,’ he said.

Hafizuddin said that the process of procuring EVMs and the haste in using them raised suspicions.

He said that the arrogance shown by the chief election commissioner for using EVMs was ‘not acceptable’.

Shusashoner Jonno Nagorik secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said that the pertinent question was that since the opposition announced its decision to participate in the election ‘it’s going to be inclusive election but would the polls be competitive’.

‘The election is going to be held keeping the government and Parliament intact making it imperative for the EC to overcome the challenges of holding a free, fair and credible election by scotching the scope of ‘systemic manipulations’.

This general election needs to be a ‘genuine election’ otherwise a massive crisis would ensue in the country, he said.

Badiul Alam said the confusions centring the use of EVMs were that whether they could ensure rigging free voting and vote counting.

If the use of EVMs could provide no answer to these questions the election cannot be credible, he said.

Election observer and president of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance Munira Khan said that voters needed the assurance that they could trust the election process.

Ruling Awami League joint general secretary Mahbul Alam Hanif said the 2014 election provided no pleasant experience.

‘That’s why we want an inclusive election this time,’ he said.
Hanif said the government was not influencing the EC.

‘It’s solely for the EC to demonstrate how courageous it could be,’ he said.
‘The voters matters to us and not the Election Commission,’ he said.
BNP vice-chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo said there was no environment conducive for free, fair and credible elections in the country right now.

‘I want to say that flawed election can only bring autocracy and repression and autocracy and repression cannot bring prosperity in any country,’ he said.