The EC has so far listened a lot, but done little

Illustration: TBS

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, /That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, /And then is heard no more. It is a tale /Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."

The Election Commission has no role in determining the nature of poll-time government meant for overseeing the 12th parliamentary elections, the bone of contention between the political divides regarding participatory national polls. 

Yet, there is much it can do to ensure credible voting and instill confidence in the public, who are the primary stakeholders eagerly anticipating the opportunity to exercise their rights every five years.

The Kazi Habibul Awal-led commission, however, is yet to come up with innovative measures in that regard.

The Election Commission, which took over in February 2022, seems to have developed a good habit of listening to others, especially those who are not even key stakeholder groups, such as members of political parties. 

In its latest effort to gather opinions regarding the upcoming elections, the Election Commission on Wednesday (13 Sep, 2023) patiently listened to a group of citizens, who often emphasised that the core crisis is multifaceted.

"You are listening to everyone, though you haven't been able to implement the suggestions. You need to explain why you are failing to execute it", Tofail Ahmed, a local governance specialist, told the Election Commission in the dialogue titled "12th national parliamentary elections: expectation and reality," as newspaper reports go.

Abu Alam Mohammad Shahid Khan, a former top civil bureaucrat, said reality is not in favour of the Election Commission, adding that overseeing good elections is impossible unless the government wants it. He also said no visible disciplinary measure has been taken against people responsible for irregularities in a recent by-poll in Gainbandha, which led to the postponement of the elections, indicating the Election Commission lacks authority.

Sakhawat Hossain, a former military bureaucrat, hinted that conducting a credible election is not possible with partisan government officials and law enforcers, referring to the recent incident where a deputy commissioner, the top bureaucrat in an administrative district, in a function called for the continuation of the government. 

Hossain, who also served as a former election commissioner during the caretaker government in 2007–08, suggested strong disciplinary measures against errant officials. 

Earlier, 15 days into its tenure, the Election Commission, led by Kazi Habibul Awal, a former civil bureaucrat, initiated efforts to solicit suggestions and ideas from all stakeholders for credible elections. However, major opposition parties boycotted the talks from March to July 2022. 

After meeting with political parties, the Election Commission compiled their ten suggestions and sent them to relevant government ministries. In contrast, suggestions from civil society members have remained buried since then.

In his latest interaction with renowned citizens on Wednesday (13 Sep, 2023), Kazi Habibul Awal said that as the government and the prime minister assured him of holding credible elections, he maintained his faith in them. However, he also maintained that the Election Commission will not bow to undue pressure.

When it comes to the administration's neutrality entrusted with the duty to conduct free, fair, peaceful, and credible polls, mere assurances from the government in power may not suffice. 

What are the protective measures in the event of manipulation? So far, no proactive, innovative steps have been taken by the Election Commission that can allay concerns regarding 'irregularities or rigging' in the voting process.

Taking into account the suggestions from the stakeholders, the Election Commission should have, by now, identified the key factors and reasons that undermine the credibility of elections and put forward potential remedies within its jurisdiction, which is enshrined in the constitution of the country. 

This is crucial given that Bangladesh's ongoing chaos revolves around the type of government that will oversee the polls. Meetings after meetings will not pay any dividends if there is no impact.

In a country like Bangladesh, 'capturing of polling booths, stuffing ballot boxes, driving away polling agents of rivals, intimidating voters to stay away from voting, fake voters and even partisan behaviour of polling officials' are the typical barriers to free and fair elections.

Irregularities in and around voting centres can be easily monitored and checked through CCTV cameras connected to live servers. Even after getting satisfactory results in the Gaibandha-5 by-polls, the Election Commission seems to shy away from using the cameras in the next general elections. However, it initially allocated Tk 300 crore for the purpose. 

Some say the commission does not have enough manpower to monitor cameras in 300 seats in a single day. In contrast, technologists say it is very simple and straightforward: the job will be done by artificial intelligence.

It is a formidable challenge for law enforcers to maintain law and order in 300 parliamentary seats across the country in a single day. Bangladesh has an estimated 11.9 crore voters, while its police force, consisting of around 250,000 members, is primarily responsible for maintaining discipline during elections. Why cannot the commission change it to staggered elections, meaning the elections will be held, let's say, in 10 days?

Even the commission should look forward to early voting or advance polling that allows voters to cast their ballots before the scheduled election day to drive away the fear of intimidating voters; the system is not at all a utopian idea in the Bangladeshi context.

Fake voters can be easily checked with the introduction of mandatory use of national IDs at polling booths, where simple machines or software will be able to verify eligible voters; this is not rocket science if the authorities have faith in technology.

Another area of concern is fair vote counting, which can be made transparent by placing the entire process under live camera surveillance to prevent cheating. Additionally, blockchain, a fascinating new technology that enables secure electronic data transactions, could provide a solution for vote calculation and tabulation.

However, many suggestions regarding the much-talked-about EVMs (electronic voting machines) have not been taken into consideration. EVMs could have been equipped with a voter-verifiable paper audit trail, a printed document that re-confirms votes, to address one of the key criticisms against the machines.

The simple and small changes are within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission, as Article 126 of Bangladesh's constitution says, "It shall be the duty of all executive authorities to assist the Election Commission in the discharge of its functions."

Of course, elections are not limited to voting day alone. Other factors, such as the rule of law, good governance, and the nature of the government responsible for overseeing elections, are issues that need to be addressed by the political parties for a stronger Bangladesh in every aspect.

Shamim A Zahedy is a journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.