Noman Mosharef :
Arrested former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has admitted that the 2024 national polls sans real political participation was ultimately a “dummy and farcical election”.
The ex-CEC Awal also confessed that it was his failure to make consensus among the political parties ahead of the highly rigged and manipulated polls.
He made the remarks in response to a question from Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad MostafizurRahman during a hearing at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Highlighting the helplessness of the Election Commission (EC), Awal said without fundamental reforms, it would not be possible to hold fair elections in Bangladesh even in the next 1,000 years.
Awal was brought to the CMM court around 12:50pm and kept in the court’s lock-up. At 1:25pm, he was produced before the magistrate.
Sub-inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, also the case’s investigating officer, submitted a petition seeking a 10-day remand for proper investigation.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi, arguing on behalf of the state, supported the remand request.He told the court, “This accused served as the chief election commissioner from 2022 to September 2024.
Under his leadership, the disgraceful national election of January 7, 2024, was held. Except for the Awami League and one or two other parties, no other political party participated in that dummy election.
It was a one-sided, staged, and farcical polls. He failed to assure a free and fair election.”
Defence lawyer Emil Hasan Rumel, pleading for cancellation of the remand prayer, said, “He [Awal] is 70 years old and suffering from multiple chronic diseases.
In resisting fascism, let us not become fascists ourselves.”
With the court’s permission, Awal then spoke and said he agreed with the prosecution’s statement, “The election was indeed a dummy and farcical one.”
At that point, the judge asked, “In every district, an Election Inquiry Committee was formed, usually headed by a joint district judge. Earlier the honorarium for this was Tk 22,000, which you increased to Tk 500,000. Wasn’t this a waste of public money?”
Awal replied that he had no knowledge of the matter, adding that the increase might have been made accounting for five years of inflation.
The judge further asked, “Did any of those Inquiry Committees actually go to the field during the election?”
Awal responded, “Each returning officer was responsible for four to five parliamentary constituencies and assisted by four to five assistant returning officers.
To properly conduct an election, 2 percent of the responsibility lies with the Commission, and the remaining 98 percent with field-level officials.”
When asked why he did not resign knowing the state of the election beforehand, Awal said, “It wasn’t possible to resign in that situation. Even one of my friends asked me about resigning.
I told him, if you had warned me earlier that such a disastrous election was coming, I wouldn’t have taken the post in the first place.”
Referring to earlier elections, Awal added, “In 1973, just three months after the 1972 Constitution was enacted, the Awami League won 293 seats. That election too was not free and fair. The lust for power is such that even Sheikh Mujib couldn’t resist it.
In 1996, the Awami League agitated for a caretaker government. Later, they themselves amended the Constitution to hold elections under a partisan government.”
At this point, the public prosecutor became agitated and told the court, “He is trying to justify himself. He should not be allowed to make such statements.”
To this, Awal replied, “If I am not allowed to justify myself, then shoot me with a revolver and kill me.”
His remarks triggered loud shouting among the lawyers present, and the courtroom became tense.
Reiterating the helplessness of the EC, Awal again said, “Without fundamental reforms, it will not be possible to hold free and fair elections in this country even in the next 1,000 years.”
After nearly half an hour of hearing, the court placed him on a three-day remand.
Electoral System Reform Commission chief Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said it is a good sign that the former CEC’s good sense has prevail upon the issue. CEC acknowledge over the issue proved that they have been acted not for the people of the country but fulfill the purpose of a political party.
Asked if there any message for the incumbent or future commission, the electoral system expert said certainly it’s a message for those who will act as a commissioner as well as incumbent also.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said I hope they will get justice for their act they have did.
The investigation over the allegation going on, after that if they convicted they will get punishment which will place an example in Bangladesh history as no one will get relief if they misuse power blindly.
He also hoped that the ongoing reform will get all political parties’ for the interest of holding free, fair, transparent and acceptable to all election in future.
Police arrested Awal from city’s Moghbazar area yesterday morning in a case filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station over depriving people of their voting rights through farcical elections, including casting votes the night before the polling day.
In the same case, another former CEC, KM Nurul Huda, was arrested last Sunday. On Monday, the court granted a four-day remand for him.
BNP Executive Committee member Salah Uddin Khan filed the case on Sunday with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, naming 24 individuals, including three former CECs, accusing them of holding farcical elections.
The case names former CEC Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad for the 2014 national election, KM Nurul Huda for the 2018 election, and Kazi Habibul Awal for the 2024 election.
Regarding the addition of sedition charges in the case, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police submitted an application, which was granted yesterday by the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court.
Other accused in the case filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station include Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of the Awami League government ousted in the July mass uprising, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former Inspector Generals of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker, Javed Patwary, and AKM Shahidul Haque, among others.
