EC dialogue: 30 educationists invited, 13 join

The election commission (EC) invited 30 educationists to its first dialogue on Sunday but only 13 of them turned up. While BNP and almost all other opposition parties have already expressed their no confidence in the new EC, such low attendance of educationists has added to the ‘lack of confidence’ in the EC within just 15 days of its assuming office.

The participants expressed hope that the new commission under chief election commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal would be able to create an environment conducive to holding a free and transparent election. They feel the EC will have to earn public trust through its performance.

The participants gave the EC some recommendations which include bringing administration and police under the EC’s control three months before the election, ensuring a level playing field for all parties, creating awareness among the public, engaging opposition parties in the electoral process, taking decisions on the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) after holding dialogue in the issue, and recruiting EC officials as returning officers.

Some of the participants said it is not possible to hold a fair election under a political government and so a polls-time government is needed. A consensus among the political parties is required to this end.

The CEC reiterated the need for consensus among the political parties. He said conducting a free and credible election would be impossible if a suitable environment cannot be created. He said the election cannot be participatory if any big political party boycotts it.

Replying to the question of journalists, the CEC said the EC invited 30 persons and they would have been happier if the attendance was more.

He said some of the participants of the dialogue were in favour of a non-partisan government during elections but that was not the stance of all.

The dialogue took place in Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban. There was arrangement for journalists to watch the dialogue through a monitor outside the meeting room.

Along with the CEC, four other commissioners -- Ahsan Habib Khan, Rasheda Sultana, Md Alamgir and Anisur Rahman -- also took part in the dialogue.

Former professor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Zafar Iqbal said, “I’m sure you will have to face criticism no matter how hard you work. Many people will say many things but at the end of the day, you must be able to tell yourself that you were honest and you've done your duty with integrity. Nothing else matters.”

Zafar Iqbal said the minority people get attacked during the election and the commission must ensure their safety. He urged the authorities to allow the expatriates to vote and ease the public’s sufferings in correcting the national identity cards.

Professor of political science at the Chittagong University, Mohammad Yeahia Akhter, thinks a good election cannot be conducted under a partisan government. He also criticised the process of formation of the current EC saying that the search committee formed to constitute the EC should have disclosed the names of 10-20 persons proposed for the EC.

The CU professor said it has been seen on many occasions that a partisan government failed to hold a participatory election. A referendum is required for using EVMs in the polls and it can be used only if people want. He said litigation is going on in various places of India over the use of EVMs and 24 states of the United States have shunned using the machine.

About the general election of 2018, Yeahia implied that voting was conducted on the night before the election and no one want such an election in future.

“There is a time for every meal," he said. "You take breakfast at 8 in the morning. When you take a meal at 1:00 pm, it is called lunch. The ballot box also has time for meals and that is 8 in the morning. But what happened in the last election? It had sehri (the meal taken before dawn by Muslims during Ramadan), instead of breakfast at 8:00 am. Such an election is not acceptable. We don’t want such an election.”

The former professor of Chittagong University also expressed his concern as to how independent the current commission would be, given that most of the commissioners are former bureaucrats. He said, “Three of you (commissioners) are bureaucrats. You are beneficiaries of the government. How will you work against them?"

Professor M Anwar Hossain of Dhaka University mentioned in the dialogue that there is an opportunity to further reform the EVM.

An acceptable election is essential for institutionalising democracy, said Abdul Mannan Chowdhury, VC of World University.

Akhter Hossain, professor of public administration department at the University of Dhaka, said the commission has to gain people’s confidence through their works.

Stressing on creating a proper environment for a free and fair election, Borhan Uddin Khan, professor at the Faculty of Law of Dhaka University, said the EC and the administration must be impartial. The ruling party and the administration cannot act like the same entity. He also suggested holding the national election over a span of several days.

Sadeka Halim, professor of the social science department at Dhaka University, remarked that a major political party is ‘opposing’ everything. The EC should create a space for them. They should be invited again and again.

Niaz Mohammad Khan, pro-VC of Independent University, took part in the dialogue as the representative from the university. He said, “There is a lack of confidence among the people about the Election Commission. There is apathy towards the election among the voters.”

Earlier, at the beginning of the dialogue, CEC Habibul Awal said, the previous parliamentary elections may not have been fully participatory due to several reasons. They want the next election to be more inclusive. At the end of the dialogue, he said, “Holding a fair election does not depend entirely on the Election Commission. If the political environment is not suitable for election, if there is no consensus among the political parties, if they are in extreme conflict, then it will be difficult to hold a proper election. Political consensus is very important. If there is a consensus among the parties, the work of EC will be much easier.”

Regarding taking the authority of the law enforcement agencies three months prior to the election, he said, “Perhaps he EC does not take complete control over the law enforcement agencies.”

Regarding the usage of EVM, the CEC said they will try to understand about EVM better and see whether there is a problem here.

Southeast University VC professor AFM Mofizul Islam, professor M Abul Kashem Majumder, professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, professor Lailufar Yasmeen and professor Al Masud Hasanuzzaman took part in the almost two-hour dialogue.

The educationist who didn’t take part in the dialogue despite being invited are Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, Bishwa Sahitya Kendra’s chairman Abdullah Abu Sayeed, former DU vice chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddiqui, former DU professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, Nurul Amin Bepari, DU VC professor Md Akhtaruzzaman, Jahangirnagar University’s former VC Farzana Islam, North South University VC professor Atiqul Islam, Jahangirnagar University teachers Dilara Choudhury and Shamsul Islam, DU professors Imtiaz Ahmed, Asif Nazrul, Mohabbat Khan, Mobassher Monem, Ferdous Hasan and Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui.

Some of them had earlier informed the EC that they could not take part in the dialogue due to illness and personal work. And two of the invitees were out of the country.

However, three professors who were invited to the dialogue, told Prothom Alo last Saturday that they think this dialogue will not be meaningful.

Meanwhile, Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), has said that the fact that 17 out of 30 invited people in the dialogue did not turn up, is a stumbling block at the beginning for the EC.

He told Prothom Alo that the Election Commission should have taken more preparation. It was necessary to review the last two national elections and identify the problems first. Before the dialogue, they had to prove that they wanted a fair election through a couple of elections and some work. Without doing that, there would be no benefit of holding dialogues only.

Regarding bringing the administration and law enforcement agencies under the EC during the election, the Shujan secretary said, “There is some legal ambiguity in this regard. There is doubt as to how effective it will be even if it is brought under the control of the EC. As seen in the last election, law enforcement tried to influence the election and the administration was not neutral.”