With the polling day just around the corner, it is mind-boggling that the Election Commission has still not been able to launch its social media monitoring, because it does not have the list of social media handles and pages being used by the parties and candidates for electioneering. As of 4pm on February 9, the EC had yet to begin this task, even though official campaigning is set to end on the morning of February 10. This is a clear violation of the electoral code of conduct, one that the EC has failed to proactively prevent.
According to the code of conduct published on November 10, political parties and candidates contesting the 13th parliamentary election, as well as their agents, were required to submit the names of the social media platforms they use, their account IDs, email addresses, and other identifying information to their respective returning officers before campaigning began on January 22. However, none of the 67 returning officers appointed across the country has been reportedly able to submit these details to the EC.
What’s more worrying is the apparent lack of seriousness on the EC’s part. That disinformation would be a major challenge during this election season was known to all, including the EC itself. Why, then, did it not act more proactively to obtain the social media details from the contestants? When asked, an election commissioner said that the “time has not ended yet” and that the commission would “sit and get an overall idea of the matter” in a day or two. One cannot help but ask: what purpose would that serve now, with the election just a couple of days away?
The EC claims to have mechanisms in place to monitor campaigning across electronic, print, and social media. But these mechanisms seem to have been ineffective judging by the reports on deliberate disinformation campaigns and the onslaught of fake and misleading content. In fact, according to a study by Transparency International Bangladesh, the EC has failed to prevent several violations of the electoral code. The study found that candidates spent large sums on social media campaigns to create instability, manipulate narratives, and influence voters through AI-generated images and video clips. Many of these campaigns targeted women and opposition candidates, using slurs to demean and intimidate them. Unfortunately, the EC has failed to prevent these abuses.
Overall, in terms of upholding the electoral code of conduct and keeping candidates in check, the EC’s performance has been abysmal. It should have been far better prepared to tackle these challenges and to ensure that this election, given its significance, would be beyond reproach. We hope it is much better equipped to ensure that the election day passes without any disruptions, and that voters are able to cast their ballots safely and peacefully. As for the electoral code, the EC must ensure that all violators are penalised accordingly.
