City election: Things we have lost

There is a sea difference between the election that was and the election that could have been.

It could have been an election in which people could merrily walk to the polling centres and pick their mayors. It could have been a return to true democracy. We could have run pictures of the winners and the losers embracing each other, the victors saying they want support of the losers and the losers promising their best for building a better city.

Instead, what we saw is the crudest form of an election.

It seemed the government was afraid to test its popularity in an election that had actually no effect on power change. And it showed the government was in the "I could not care less" mode to have an election in this fashion.

And through this farce we have lost quite a few things. Let's count them.

First, we have lost the faith of our citizens, especially the youngsters who were the first-time voters in the democratic process that the government so staunchly preaches.

There was this young nursing student who recounted her polling centre experience. She almost danced to the polling centre, the first time in her life, and then the polling officer gave her a smile and said, "Well, since you have come to vote, let me put ink on your finger. But you don't need to cast vote." The flabbergasted student walked away without further exchange.

Secondly, we have lost a chance for political reconciliation. The way the election was brazenly bulldozed only shows how little the government could care about BNP or for that matter for any opposition party.

Thirdly, we have lost credibility of the election commission, a vital pillar for any democracy. Although the news channels and social media were flooded with numerous video clips and pictures of vote rigging and intimidation, the CEC, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, could not find anything wrong. He thought the nation a bunch of fools when he thanked all for a "free and fair" election. He did not bother to think how low his own standing fell when he uttered those partisan words live on TV.

Fourthly, we have lost a chance for our law enforcement agencies to be neutral in an election under a political government. The way police drove away BNP agents and blocked the media from covering the rigging, it only showed how much immunity they enjoy from this government. In future, why should they bother caring about political rights or human rights? Having a reckless law enforcement agency is a big threat to the society.

Fifthly, it is the media that has lost its battle. There was this belief that media vigil would prevent any voting anomalies. But that was proven wrong. The way media persons were intimidated and attacked by the ruling party men was unprecedented. Reporters and photographers were barred from taking pictures. We have only heard from them their horror stories.

And finally, it is democracy that has suffered a defeat. The winners could be Annisul Huq and Sayeed Khokon, but the losers are the people of Bangladesh.