Rectifying the electoral roll
It is the accurate electoral roll which is the fundamental document of setting up a good election and on the basis of which the election officials identify fake or false voters during the election day. Thus, fair and democratic elections completely depend on the accuracy of the electoral roll.
The right of all adult citizens to participate in the affairs of the government is one of the corner-stones of democracy. As the foundation stone of democracy, the integrity and accuracy of the voter roll are of paramount importance. An underage voter may creep into the electoral roll, but it is unpardonable to disenfranchise any eligible voter by exclusion of his/her name from the electoral roll.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The Election Commission (EC) has recently published the draft voter list which has listed a total number of 9,13,14,592 voters. The EC has not mentioned the figures of male and female voters,and the publishing date of the final list due to acute indiscipline in coordinating the total process.
The total increase of voters on the new list is around 1.65 crore, about 22 per cent higher than the number on the list prepared in 2000, which is highly unusual. In the existing roll, 57.53 per cent of the then 13 crore population, 7.48 crore, were registered as voters, while the new draft list has over 65 per cent of the14 crore present population as voters.
The ratio of voters to population in the draft list is much higher than those in all the rolls prepared since 1970. In addition, although posting voter lists for public scrutiny is mandatory, it has been reported in a number of national dailies that no lists were displayed at the EC Secretariat in Dhaka and election offices in Chittagong, Moulvibazar, Jessore, and other districts.
One of the leading daily reports that "the field level works of the fresh voter listing were frequently interfered by the ruling alliance activists. Many quarters have alleged that ruling alliance men inserted huge numbers of fake voters on the list."
Perhaps the most fundamental form of participation is the right to vote in free and fair elections. The ability to exercise the democratic right to vote is premised on the existence of a comprehensive and inclusive voter roll, which is rigorously maintained to ensure, as much as possible, that each eligible citizen is registered to vote.
Electoral roll is the fundamental component of any voting system. Enrollment procedure therefore need to strike the right balance between the need to be rigorous to ensure integrity of the rolls, and the need for flexibility to ensure that people's right to enroll and vote are protected.
Controversies over the electoral roll have existed for the last few elections in our country. But the recent performance of the Chief Election Commission regarding preparation of the electoral roll not only creates confusion about the accuracy of the voter list but also lessens the confidence of the general people in the neutrality of the EC itself.
Controversies and complaints raised by different actors during the preparation of the draft roll clearly indicate lack of confidence in the accuracy of the electoral roll. Thus, the EC must concentrate on rectifying the electoral roll for holding the election in a free and fair manner.
The political parties should play a complementary role with the EC for holding the election in a free, fair, and impartial manner, and make the outcome of the election credible and acceptable to all.
The civil society orgnisations along with the NGOs should also come forward with more boldness to establish an independent EC free from political interference. Initiative of the civil society and NGOs can help bridge the gap between the political parties and the EC.
The NGOs can successfully help government institutions in solving most of the national crisis. In this regard, Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA), like some other civil society initiatives, has already set up some examples. FEMA has been vigorously advocating for electoral reform since its inception and contributing to the process of holding a free and fair election in the country. FEMA's contribution in increasing the public confidence over the electoral process is unprecedented.
The EC should seriously consider involvement of Election Monitoring Organisations (EMOs) like FEMA in updating and correcting the electoral roll by engaging its countrywide network of volunteers. Definitely, involvement of a non-partisan EMO in the process of preparing and updating the electoral roll would help increasing its level of acceptance to the political parties and the general voters. Besides, public consultation about the ways and means of preparing an accurate and acceptable voter list is one exercise where the EMOs can contribute a lot.
During the registration period, a good number of people get an excellent opportunity to involve in the electoral process as volunteers with specific responsibilities. These responsibilities may include initiating voter education campaign encouraging the people to register as voter, monitoring the conduct of the government officials and implementing a system to process complaints regarding preparation of the voter list. These activities, including identification of probable problems in the process of registration, can substantially enhance the quality of the electoral roll.
Moreover, the importance of the pre-election environment monitoring, including the process of nomination and its successful contribution towards holding a free and fair election, suggests for monitoring of the process of preparing the electoral roll. Monitoring of the electoral process for ensuring a free, fair and credible election cannot be limited to monitoring on election day only. The controversies surrounding the preliminary electoral roll and its finalisation demand inclusion of the monitoring of the process of preparing and finalising the electoral roll under the long-term observation program by the EMOs like FEMA.
Another important issue to be addressed is ensuring the right to franchise of the expatriate Bangladeshis. Non-resident Bangladeshis, numbering 2.5 million, engaged in different jobs abroad are still considered ineligible to exercise their franchise in national and other elections. The EC, however, stopped the process of including the expatriates, mentioning that it was not realistic. Once the expatriates are included in the voter list, it will be a must for the EC to take necessary arrangement for casting their votes, which is not possible in the conventional system. Relevant laws need to be amended for ensuring the expatriates' right to franchise.
The EC however can seriously consider the following issues with a view to rectifying the electoral roll:
- Involving EMOs to monitor/check the electoral roll throughout the country, particularly in areas where there were serious allegations.
- Verifying the accuracy of the information on the voters' lists by conducting sample survey following a statistically accepted method.
- To identify extreme changes in the number of registrants in a region, the current electoral roll can be compared with that of the previous elections.
- Various computer applications can be used for the existing election database to determine duplicate registrations and the registration of ineligible voters.
The Election Commission should consider formation of a vigilance team comprising the volunteers from various EMOs and representatives of various political parties. These teams will be engaged in scrutinising the electoral roll of the respective areas under direct supervision of the election officials. The EC should go for immediate implementation of such a program for timely and effective completion of their activities resulting in an accurate electoral roll accepted to all.
Generally, the EC ought to have its own permanent personnel who would specialise in election related jobs and remain to serve the EC while top executives (Secretary, Additional Secretary, etc) may be brought in from the civil bureaucracy. The EC should also hire consultants from amongst former/retired officers of the EC who have previous experience of handling election related issues and problems. Experience has no substitute.