A ludicrous election commission

The EC has asked people to come to the election offices in their localities to include their names in the voter list. The acting secretary of EC informed the media that following the SC verdict, the EC would prepare a 'supplementary' voter list by including, excluding and revising the existing voter list of 2000 according to Article 10 of the Voter's Roll Ordinance-1982 and Article 20 of the Voters' List Rules-1982. The process will start from July 1 and be completed by July 31.

The electoral and legal experts slashed the EC's decision for using the information of the controversial draft voter list declared illegal by the SC in updating it, describing it as the contempt of court and illegal. In the face of harsh criticism, the EC cancelled its decision on June 14 to use the controversial draft voter list but stuck to the other decision of not to visit door- to- door for the task.

In fact, the CEC is playing ducks and drakes with preparation of voter list defying the order of highest judiciary. The SC on May 23 rejected the appeal of the EC filed against the HC directives to prepare voter list based on existing one. But the CEC twiddled with such a critical issue and waited for long 20 days on deciding his next course of action. Now he is heading to disgrace himself once again deciding to revise the existing voter list without going from door-to-door.

We really wonder what a magic the CEC possesses for revising existing voter list without sending the enumerators to visit door-to-door for excluding the names of dead or those otherwise becoming ineligible for voting right and also for including those who have become eligible to vote to the list. Asking the voters to come to the election offices to get themselves enrolled is a utopian idea. Section 21 of the Voters' Roll Ordinance 1982 that lays down the procedure for revision provides for door-to-door information collection.

When an undisputed voter list is the most important prerequisite for holding a fair election and the highly controversial EC has miserably failed to accomplish the task, Mr. Aziz virtually has made this constitutional body a hollow and ludicrous one. In fact he seems to be determined in making mess of every step of holding a credible election.

The circumstantial evidences suggest that the EC has taken such a short-cut method of revision of the existing voter list as it has no fund for undertaking the task of door-to-door calls by its enumerators. All the allocations for this purpose were reported to be spent on preparing the controversial voter list. Now the pertinent question arises, should the nation suffer for what was the arrogance on the part of CEC disregarding the HC directives? The EC must prepare an authentic voter list following the rules stipulated in the Voters' Roll Ordinance 1982, whatever may be the cost.

The crucial factor in conducting a credible election is the credibility of the CEC. But the CEC's credibility has already been undermined in a series of events. Justice M.A. Aziz, immediately after his taking over as the CEC took a controversial initiative to hold a series of dialogues on the voter list with as many as 99 political parties and alliance without the main opposition Awami League. But the initiative of the CEC produced no result leaving serious disagreement between the EC and the political parties over the voter list.

His moral support to an outrageous partisan move appointing 150 JCD activists and relatives of the BNP leaders as Upazila Election Officers, has gone a step further to diminish his public confidence. The CEC is oath bound to be neutral for holding free and fair election and the EC is one such institution that has the onerous responsibility of conducting a credible election. But politicisation of the EC has created suspicion and misgiving in the public minds about its ability to hold free and fair national elections.

A free and fair election is what millions in Bangladesh are now craving for with the next general election only six months away as a general election has a greater significance in our parliamentary form of democracy. Unfortunately, the rigging of election in Bangladesh was so often in the recent past and is still pervasive. It is only the indomitable spirit of the people that has prevented the avalanche of rigged elections from engulfing the democracy.

But the controversial role of the CEC and the obvious absence of openness in the workings of the EC have raised some grave questions in the public mind about its sincerity. The CEC holding the constitutional responsibility, has also been failed in demonstrating enough guts and respect to democratic norms for holding a free and fair election.

The EC is a constitutional body and its sacred duty is the holding of free and fair election keeping it above political partisanship. The EC is supposed to be manned by neutral and non-pliable personalities. But the palpable partisan conduct of the election commissioners and CEC MA Aziz in particular, and their twiddling with voter list has made the EC to lose its credibility of holding the next general election free and fair.

The AL-led 14 party alliance has accused the CEC and two commissioners for partiality and demanded their resignation. The common people also desire that the CEC and two commissioners should resign and the EC be reconstituted in order to restore its lost credibility.

The odd and farcical activities of the CEC have already cost the country a price that cannot be measured only in terms of money. His latest move of revision of the exiting voter list without engaging the enumerators to visit door-to-door should be resisted by all means, as it is inviting fresh legal disputes. It has already been proved beyond all doubts that no free and fair election is possible under such a hollow and ludicrous EC. The responsibility now lies upon the government to find suitable replacements of the CEC and two other commissioners talking to opposition leaders.

Bangladesh, a country already plunged into enormous economic, militancy and political problems, is now likely to face the challenge of holding next parliamentary election, free and fair, with participation of all political parties. The nation does not like to face another volatile situation similar to the one it faced on February 15, 1996.

A N M Nurul Haque is a banker.