Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman today warned that failure to control mob violence could affect the upcoming election scheduled for February 12.
“If mob violence is not properly addressed, it will inevitably affect the election, like it affects other sectors,” he said.
He made the remarks during a question-and-answer session after presenting a research paper titled “Justice, State Reform and Election after the Fall of Authoritarianism: Expectations and Reality” at the TIB office in Dhanmondi this afternoon.
Iftekharuzzaman said, “The phenomenon of mob violence in Bangladesh actually started from within the government. The country’s administrative centre, the Bangladesh Secretariat, became the place where mobs first emerged,” he said, adding that the groups now identified as mobs gained power through this process, weakening the government’s moral authority.
On election-related violence, the TIB chief expressed hope that the polls would be peaceful but cautioned against guarantees.
“We all hope that there will not be a single killing and not a single incident of violence. But we cannot guarantee that,” he said. He added that risk assessments must consider the worst-case scenario.
“From that perspective, we believe the risk of violence will remain not only until February 12, but also for several days afterwards.”
He said the government was aware of the risks and possessed the authority, knowledge, skills and experience to act.
“The government understands this better than we do. It has the authority, the knowledge, the skills and the experience,” he said. However, he expressed concern based on Bangladesh’s past electoral history.
“Elections in Bangladesh have rarely been completely free of violence. There have been exceptions in the past, there may be exceptions now, or in the future,” he said. He stressed that lessons from previous polls must be used to prevent violence this time.
“If the government does not take effective steps, mob violence will influence the election,” he warned.
Iftekharuzzaman also questioned whether post-July accountability measures were delivering justice or serving as revenge. He said various initiatives, including trials for crimes against humanity, corruption and other offences, may not always be impartial.
“The question remains how much of this is justice and how much is revenge, especially when professional positions are misused to target certain individuals,” he said. He emphasised that genuine accountability requires identifying the real perpetrators of crimes such as killings, human rights violations, corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and ensuring fair trials.
He criticised the government’s recent issuance of two ordinances -- the Broadcasting Ordinance and the Media Commission Ordinance -- describing them as a “symbolic and misleading step” that increased state control over the media while ignoring earlier reform recommendations.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to further increase government control over the media under the guise of reform,” he said.
On judicial reform, he acknowledged some positive steps taken during the interim government’s tenure, including reforms in judicial appointments, administration and the secretariat, but warned that politicisation within the justice system remained a serious challenge.
He urged political parties to commit to depoliticising institutions and professional bodies if democratic reforms are to succeed.
