boosting voter turnout AL, EC face uphill battle

Abu Jakir :
As the sixth Upazila Parishad elections reach their largest and most critical phase today, the ruling Awami League and the Election Commission are grappling with the dual challenges of maintaining law and order while striving to significantly boost voter turnout.
Despite initial expressions of satisfaction, the Awami League remains uneasy over the low turnout in the first phase, prompting the party to relax its stringent stance on excluding relatives of ministers and MPs from the election process in a bid to galvanise voter participation in the upcoming rounds.
While there is some discomfort over the low turnout, Awami League leaders emphasise that the first phase was peaceful and fair. They note that, apart from a few isolated incidents, there were no major conflicts or irregularities, and no loss of life. They believe that the free and fair nature of the first phase will positively influence voter engagement in the subsequent phases.
Awami League leaders believe that excluding ministers’ and MPs’ relatives from candidature led to decreased competition and voter turnout. Consequently, they have moderated their position on this issue.
Several senior Awami League leaders have stated that the absence of the BNP and other opposition parties has reduced competition, a topic of internal discussion. They believe the lack of strong competition is a key reason for voter apathy.
At a joint meeting at the Awami League’s central office recently, the party’s General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, described the peaceful nature of the election, with no conflict or casualties, as a success for both the government and the Election Commission.
“Our main goal now is to minimise conflict and casualties and increase voter turnout. This directive has been given to our party workers for the upcoming elections,” Quader stated.
Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told The New Nation that if the BNP had participated
officially, Awami League candidates would have campaigned more vigorously, visiting more voters.
He expressed hope that voter turnout will increase in the upcoming phases.
The party’s policymakers also believe that the BNP has created the perception that voters are turning away from elections without opposition participation, aiming to prove that the Awami League lacks popularity. Therefore, the ruling party will focus on increasing voter turnout in the second, third, and fourth phases of the Upazila elections.
In the upcoming phases of the Upazila elections, the party will not pressure ministers’ and MPs’ relatives to step down. Instead, they will ensure that all candidates have the opportunity to campaign to increase voter turnout.
Badiul Alam Majumder, a local government election expert, thinks that past experiences have not been positive. Many violated the code of conduct even in the national elections and hid information in affidavits, but the Election Commission remained silent. This has caused people to lose faith and refrain from voting, indicating that the electoral system is in ruins.
In the second phase, voting will take place in 156 upazilas. Among them, voting will be conducted via EVMs in 24 upazilas across 9 districts. There are a total of 13,016 polling centres and 91,589 polling booths in 10 regions and 1,494 unions. Ballots will be sent to 697 centres today (Monday), and on the day of voting, ballots will be sent to 12,323 centers. The total number of voters in the second phase is 35,204,748.