11-party alliance in dilemma as trust in EC declines
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The Union Parishad (UP) elections are set to begin on January 21 next year. The government and the Election Commission (EC) are making preparations as announced. Election fever has already begun to sweep through grassroots areas.
Uncertainty has emerged over whether the 11-party alliance led by the main opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami will participate in the elections.
In particular, alliance leaders have alleged irregularities and bias in the Thakurgaon-1 by election and said they have no confidence in the current Election Commission. They may even take steps such as boycotting the elections unless the commission is reformed or the Chief Election Commissioner resigns.
According to several alliance sources, senior leaders have begun fresh discussions about whether an environment conducive to participating in local government elections exists under the current Election Commission. The alliance may reconsider its decision to participate in the elections unless structural and administrative reforms are made to the commission.
To this end, they are planning to launch political programs soon demanding reforms to the Election Commission. Through these programs, they may call for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and changes at various levels of the commission. An alliance leader told Agamir Somoy that they may also announce a boycott of local government elections if their demands are not met.
Jamaat’s dissatisfaction with the Election Commission is not new. The party has disagreements with the commission over several issues, including the cancellation of the contractual appointment of EC Additional Secretary Md. Shamsul Alam and allowing MPO-listed teachers to participate in local government elections.
On July 29, the party held a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner and presented a nine-point demand. However, the lack of expected progress on these demands and the recent Thakurgaon-1 by-election have further intensified the alliance’s dissatisfaction.
Another senior leader of the 11-party alliance told Agamir Somoy, “We have initially decided that we need to reconsider elections under this commission. We have no confidence in the current commission. Extensive reforms to the Election Commission are necessary. The Chief Election Commissioner himself has been accused of biased behavior. We are planning a movement demanding his resignation and reforms to the Election Commission. If reforms are not made, we may also announce that we will not participate in local government elections.”
The Thakurgaon-1 by election is considered the main reason behind the alliance leaders’ position. In the election held on October 29, BNP candidate Mirza Faisal Amin was unofficially declared elected after receiving 227,789 votes. His closest rival, Jamaat candidate Delawar Hossain, received 96,453 votes. The difference between the two candidates was 131,336 votes.
However, after the results were announced, Jamaat alleged widespread irregularities in the election, intimidation of voters, obstruction of voters from reaching polling stations, administrative bias and advance stamping of ballots.
The party claims it had lodged complaints with the Election Commission over these issues before the election, but no effective measures were taken. On October 25, a Jamaat delegation met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and expressed concern over the electoral environment in Thakurgaon. The delegation also demanded the deployment of army personnel to ensure voter security. However, after their complaints were not addressed, the party formally expressed dissatisfaction with the election.
The party’s Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar alleged that voters were obstructed from entering polling stations. In some cases, voters arrived at polling stations only to discover that their votes had already been cast. He also claimed that election agents were prevented from performing their duties, voters were intimidated and officials on duty did not have identification cards. He further alleged that some ballot book counterfoils had been stamped and signed in advance.
According to Golam Parwar, although the Election Commission was informed of these allegations, no visible and effective action was taken. He also claimed that despite allegations against the Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer for taking a position in favor of a particular candidate, the officer was not removed from duty.
In his view, if allegations of irregularities cannot be addressed effectively even in a by-election, questions will remain about how Union Parishad, municipality, city corporation and Upazila Parishad elections can be held impartially.
In this regard, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad told Agamir Somoy, “The current Election Commission is acting much like a partisan entity. We have no confidence in this commission. The Thakurgaon-1 by-election is one of the most prominent examples. Before the election, we met with the commission and raised various issues concerning irregularities. However, no effective measures were taken regarding those issues. Under these circumstances, we are also concerned about local government elections. We want reforms to the Election Commission.”
National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam said it is not possible to hold local government elections fairly under the current circumstances. He claimed that the Election Commission has been politicized and that the trend continues.
He said, “The 11-party alliance will present clear reform proposals to the Election Commission. Based on those proposals, we will demand that local government elections be held.”
Meanwhile, Jamaat’s previously submitted nine-point demands to the Election Commission have also come back into discussion, including the cancellation of the contractual appointment of EC Secretariat Additional Secretary Md. Shamsul Alam.
The demands include reconsidering the proposal to disqualify MPO-listed teachers from participating in local government elections, disqualifying leaders holding positions in banned organizations from contesting elections and preventing political individuals who have served as administrators in various local government institutions from participating in elections.
Through these demands, the party wants changes to the rules and regulations governing local government elections and the administrative system.
