Arrest polling agents 6 months before or after election: CEC

Polling agents of political parties should be arrested six months before or after the national elections if they are accused of any wrongdoing, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a workshop at the Election Commission Building in the capital's Agargaon, he said, "We will repeatedly tell the government that if they have to arrest the polling agents, arrest them six months before the election or after it. The election should not become questionable. In that case, the EC would become tainted too."

He said the names of polling agents are usually kept secret by the parties and informed on the morning of the election day so that the agents can reach polling centres safely.

"They give us names of 100-150 people. If later we see that all 150 people have already been arrested, then we get a negative impression. Why were they not arrested a month ago? Why were they not arrested two months ago? Why were they arrested the day before the polls?"

The BNP struggled to appoint polling agents in the 2018 national election due to arrests during their election campaign.

At the time, BNP leaders complained that they were unable to find enough people willing to serve as polling agents for fear of arrest.

The BNP candidates had arranged for several teams of polling agents at each polling station so that if one agent was unable to attend, another agent could be sent in their place.

Then-CEC KM Nurul Huda also said a candidate's agent could not be arrested unless there was a case against them.

Polling agents are important because they represent the candidate in the polling station and ensure that the election is conducted fairly.

Previously, ahead of the national elections in December 2018, police arrested thousands of opposition leaders and activists.

About 7,000 activists and leaders of the opposition were arrested since the election schedule was announced in November 2018, Al Jazeera reported citing a statement from the then main opposition Jatiya Oikya Front.

Also, in the week before the polls in December 2018, police arrested more than 10,500 opposition activists in Bangladesh, Voice of America reported citing leaders of the opposition parties.

'EC will focus on the legal aspects, not legitimacy'

CEC Kazi Habibul Awal said at the workshop that the Election Commission will focus on the legal aspects of the national elections rather than the issue of legitimacy.

He said, "Even if we have just one percent of the vote, the election will be legally valid. Questions about legitimacy may arise, but concerns about legality will not. Our primary concern is not legitimacy; political parties may debate that. Our focus is ensuring that the elections are conducted in a free, fair, and peaceful manner."

The CEC emphasised that when polling agents take a firm stance, it becomes extremely challenging to manipulate the election results.

Kazi Habibul Awal also said the Election Commission wanted to conduct the election honestly and sincerely.

"We have not taken this responsibility to favour any party," he said.

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Begum Rashida Sultana said that it is not the Election Commission's responsibility to bring everyone to the polls.

"People will elect whom they want to elect. We have no say in this. But politics have become very different now. As a result of this, everyone is asking why is the EC not taking the responsibility of bringing everyone to the polls. I want to say that the responsibility is not ours," she said.

The main objective of the Election Commission is to organise a free election, she said.

At the workshop, former Election Commissioner Kabita Khanam expressed concerns about the possibility of participatory elections, stating that if the main opposition party does not participate, it cannot be considered participatory.

Mohammad Shahnewaz, another former election commissioner, said that the two main parties in the country are at odds with each other. He argued that if they unite, the elections will be fair.