Wake up, election commission!

Violence, armed clashes, false votes, loss of life, attempts to snatch away ballot boxes, and a host of other mishaps marred the various union parishad, pourashava and city corporation elections on Thursday. The local government polls were far from free, fair or peaceful. Elections in Bangladesh have been reduced to nothing more than muscle power.

Of the 133 elections, 47 were union parishad general polls and 72 were by-elections or suspended elections, one was for the post of upazila parishad chairman, four were pourashava polls and seven were by-elections or suspended elections, and there were one by-election each for the Khulna and Chittagong city corporation elections.

Given the city corporation and national elections ahead, these elections cannot be undermined. There’s a saying, morning shows the day. The disruptions in the Thursday elections give rise to apprehensions concerning the coming city corporation and national elections.

It was shocking to observe the three-way clashes in Ghatail, Tangail, when supporters of a certain candidate tried to snatch away the ballot box there. A local Juba League leader, Abdul Malek, was killed when police opened fire. The candidate was an Awami League supporter. If supporters of an Awami League candidate try to snatch away a ballot box, surely a BNP or Juba Dal leader was not involved. So was he there to protest against this wrongdoing?

Both sides in the armed clashes during the by-election of a Chittagong city corporation ward involved Awami League supporters. They had carried out an armed rehearsal in the yard of one of their houses. There had been several clashes among Awami League candidates and the party’s ‘rebel’ candidates prior to this too. Over 150 people were killed during the 2016 union parishad polls, most of them being leaders and activists of Awami League.

When do such incidents involving the election occur? Such incidents occur when the candidates feel that the verdict of the voters is not necessary, that they can win by stuffing the ballot boxes by any means and when they are not accountable whatsoever.

Such elections do not reflect public opinion. It is the responsibility of the election commission to put an end to such force and farce during the elections. They can take assistance from the local administration and the law enforcement agencies. The matter must be probed. An independent committee must carry out an inquiry into the incidents.

It is hoped that the election commission takes a lesson from the failure of these elections and ensures that the mistakes are not repeated in future. The responsibility of the election commission is not merely to hold an election somehow and announce the winners and losers. The election must reflect public verdict in the true sense. It must be ensured that the voters can go to the polling centres fearlessly and cast their votes. The election system cannot be ruined by a handful of miscreants. Wake up, election commission!