The Election Commission (EC) has the power to impose jail sentences and fines, as well as to cancel candidacies for breaching the electoral code of conduct. However, in most of these cases, the EC has chosen to issue warnings to the candidates. Additionally, the EC has imposed fines on candidates in some instances.
According to EC sources, around 800 executive magistrates are monitoring whether individuals are violating the electoral code of conduct at the field level. In addition, there is an election inquiry committee in each constituency consisting of judicial magistrates to prevent pre-election irregularities and ensure control. However, these committees do not have the authority to take action on their own. They can only recommend that the EC take action based on their inquiry.
According to The Representation of the People Order act, the EC can give necessary instructions to concerned persons, candidates and political parties based on the recommendation of the election inquiry committee. The commission may impose a fine of Tk 20,000 to Tk 100,000 or can cancel the candidacy of contenders involved in the violation of electoral code of conduct.
According to the electoral code of conduct, there are provisions of imposing a fine of maximum Tk 50,000 or a maximum of six months of imprisonment in case a candidate or any person on the behalf of the candidate breaches the electoral code of conduct. The fine is Tk 50,000 in case of political parties.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Election commissioner Md Ahsan Habib Khan said all returning officers have been instructed to ensure that the electoral code of conduct is maintained. Besides, executive magistrates and the election inquiry committee are working at the field level to monitor whether any candidate is breaching the electoral code of conduct. They are imposing fines and prison terms in many cases.
He further said the EC has started taking actions on the basis of the reports from the inquiry committee. It’s an ongoing process. The EC has sought reports from the respective election inquiry committees in places where violence erupted, including Shailakupa, Benapole and several places in Rajshahi.
The EC will review the reports on Saturday and make decisions regarding the actions that can be taken, he added.
All the allegations
The election inquiry committees have taken a total of 211 complaints as of Friday since the declaration of the election schedule. Apart from the candidates, their supporters and several government officials have been accused of breaching the electoral codes. Some also have multiple allegations of code of conduct violations against them.
The list of Awami League leaders who have been served show cause notices by the EC includes 52 MPs of the incumbent parliament. Apart from that, some 28 independent candidates and nine candidates from the Jatiya Party (JaPa) have been served the show cause notice. The inquiry committees have started sending reports to the EC after investigating the allegations.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Ashok Kumar Debnath, secretary of the Election Commission secretariat said the EC has received more than 120 reports from the inquiry committees so far. Recommendations have been made to warn those who have violated the electoral code of conduct for the first time. Some of the candidates will be summoned. The election commissioners are outside of Dhaka at the moment. The candidates will be summoned upon their return.
Awami League candidate from the Cumilla-6 constituency AKM Bahauddin has been served a show cause notice by the inquiry committee after an allegation surfaced that some of his followers assaulted a reporter and a cameraperson of a private TV channel on his order. Bahauddin has been asked to appear before the inquiry committee in person or through a representative Sunday.
Awami League candidate from the Sirajganj-6 constituency has also been summoned by the EC for breaching the electoral code of conduct.
Prothom Alo’s Lalmonirhat correspondent said supporters of Ataur Rahman, an independent candidate from the Lalmonirhat-1 constituency, were assaulted Thursday night. Besides, his car and election camp was vandalised.
The inquiry committee in the Lalmonirhat-1 constituency has served a show cause notice to Goddimari union parishad chairman Abu Bakkar Siddiqui alias Shyamol over the incident. Abu Bakkar is a personal associate of Motahar Hossai, the Awami League candidate from this constituency .
Awami League presidium member and incumbent MP of the Madaripur-2 constituency Shahjahan Khan’s son Asibur Rahman threatened to ‘silence those who will raise voices against the party’. The election inquiry committee served him a show cause notice after a video of his speech went viral on social media.
Local Awami League leader Hatem Ali threatened the beneficiaries of the government allowances saying their allowance card will be cancelled if they fail to join the rallies of Awami League nominated candidate Abul Kalam Azad from the Jamalpur-5 constituency. He too has been served show cause notice.
The actions being taken
According to the sources in the EC secretariat, the inquiry committees even recommended legal actions against some of the candidates.
They recommended filing a complaint with the judicial magistrate against Dhirendra Debnath, Awami League candidate in the Barguna-1 constituency, after finding the allegation of breaching the electoral code of conduct against him to be true. In another incident, the inquiry committee recommended imposing fines on Dhirendra Debnath and two other local Awami League leaders.
Apart from that, the respective inquiry committees have recommended filing cases against an AL leader in the Pabna-3 constituency and Mazedul Islam, personal secretary of Awami League candidate from the Gazipur-5 constituency Meher Afroz.
The EC has warned four Awami League candidates for breaching the electoral code of conduct based on the recommendations made by the inquiry committees on 14 December. These four candidates are – AL candidate from the Narayanganj-1 constituency and textile minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, AL candidate from the Dhaka-19 constituency and minister for disaster management and relief Enamur Rahman, AL candidate Mrinal Kanti Das from the Munshiganj-3 constituency and AL candidate Meher Afroz from the Gazipur-5 constituency.
Meanwhile, the EC summoned Awami League presidium member and the party candidate from the Jhalakathi-2 constituency Amir Hossain Amu to explain his stance against the allegations of breaching electoral code of conduct against him on Friday. Later, the EC said it was satisfied with the explanation given by the veteran Awami League leader.
The executive magistrates at the field level have imposed fines in some cases of violation of the electoral code of conduct.
Supporters of four candidates in three constituencies in Lakshmipur were fined a total of Tk 60,000 for violating the election code of conduct last Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, an executive magistrate sentenced a pro-Awami League UP member to one day in prison over the incident of vandalising the car of a supporter of an independent candidate from the Kushtia-4 constituency.
Former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain told Prothom Alo the EC can take various actions in case of violation of electoral code of conduct. The candidature of the candidates, who repeatedly breached the electoral code of conduct, should be cancelled.
*This report appeared on the print an online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu