WITH three days to go before the national elections for a democratic transition after years of disenfranchisement, it is imperative that the vote be conducted without electoral fraud. In this context, the concerns that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party raised on February 7 that a political party was planning on ways for election manipulation need serious consideration. The spokesperson of the BNP election steering committee claims that the party’s principal rival was acquiring large quantity of women’s veils in an attempt at rigging votes. It has also raised concern about illegal making of voting seals and printing ballots. Their allegations are not unfounded considering that the police on February 4 filed a case against a local Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Isalmi leader over manufacturing six ballot seals in Lakshmipur. The fears for the misuse of women’s veils for voting forgery is concerning as it could enable individuals to cast multiple ballots if voter identification is not strictly enforced and the unauthorised production of ballots and seals is not effectively prevented. The Election Commission should, therefore, take robust measures to prevent identity theft at the polls and the casting of multiple votes through the use of illegally produced ballots concealed under clothing.
Political parties contesting the elections have raised other concerns that indicate the Election Commission’s failure to enforce the electoral code of conduct. Media reports say that a political party was collecting voter’s national identity information and mobile numbers in various slums across Dhaka. On January 28, a mobile court fined a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in a Lakhshmipur constituency when he was collecting national identity card information and distributing dry food. There are other areas where the commission’s effort to ensure credible elections has already fallen short. The commission issued 55,454 domestic election observer cards, of which a single organisation, the People’s Association for Social Advancement, had been approved for 10,559 observers. The commission later cancelled the organisation’s cards after major anomalies had been reported. It was reported that the organisation operates from a single room, which is the house of its executive members. The commission should investigate the officials responsible for issuing domestic observer cards to this organisation for failing to exercise due diligence. Moreover, the commission has been ineffective in disciplining political parties for exploiting religious sentiment and the use of misogynistic language in campaigns.
The Election Commission must reckon with the responsibility it has been trusted with after years of disenfranchisement under the Awami League regime and do all that needs to be done for credible national elections. The commission must implement a foolproof system to authenticate ballots, enforce voter identification and curb the illegal printing of ballots to prevent multiple voting.
