Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
The interim government has started its journey under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yunus through uprising July 2024 and departure of fascist Hasina to India on August 5. The spirit of this upsurge is to ensure the alleviation of disparity. So this interim government is well characterised by power of student and mass support. But this government needs cooperation and collaboration from all walks of life. EC’s radical change is the priority of the nation.
It is the number one demand of the general people but to ensure free, fair and credible election is a big challenge for interim government.
In Article 119(1) of the Bangladesh Constitution, the Election Commission is entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the election of members of the National Parliament.
According to the provisions of Article 126 of the Constitution, it is the duty of all executive authorities to assist the Election Commission in discharging its duties. The Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972 containing detailed provisions on the election of Members of Parliament has been issued in the light of the directives of Article 3 of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, which has been amended from time to time.
Moreover, the Election Conduct Rules, Political Party and Candidate Conduct Rules, Political Party Registration Rules, Independent Candidate Rules have been made under the People’s Representation Order.
As part of the election procedure, I would like to suggest all political parties concerned need to prepare a list of candidates from all the areas and submit it to the Election Commission.
The party candidates will submit their nomination forms and relevant papers to the commission for final verification. The commission will arrange necessary formalities on the scheduled date for the verification of their nomination papers. In context to national parliament election, I suggest selections of more than one candidate from parties for nomination of his candidature from one constituency.
Moreover, the same procedure will have to be followed for elections of local government. The EC shall announce the schedule in time. The party selection board or committee will follow the guidelines announced in the schedule. At the end of the selection process, the party has to prepare a list of candidates from all the areas and submit it to the election commission.
After receiving the final list, the EC will go for their verification. This activity was previously done in the office of DC who acted his part as Returning Officer. This time, the verification activities and the final nomination of a candidate may be done by the concerned committee as I suggested or mentioned below.
In the case of parliamentary elections, the selection committee may be formed as follows
1. Chairman (An Election Commissioner)
2. Member Secretary (Representative of the Election Commission to the third grade officer)
3. Member (a judicial officer, not below the rank of Joint District Judge)
4. Member (one from each political party)
5. Member (Civil citizen or a person of any professional status)
6. DC, Coordinator
7. District Judge / Additional District Judge, Returning Officer / Assistant Returning Officer
In the case of District Parisad election, the number of the board of the Election Commission
will be 64 for 64 districts. A Board shall be composed of the following members as given below:
1. Chairman (Retired Army Officer)
2. Member Secretary (Election Commissions representative DS level officer)
3. Member (a judicial officer, not below the rank of Senior Assistant Judge)
4. Member (one from each political party)
5. Member (Civil citizen or a person of any professional status)
6. The District Administrator, Coordinator
7. District Judge / Additional District Judge, Returning Officer / Assistant Returning Officer
The same structured rules and concepts for verification committee may be used for Upazila and Union Parisad elections. The size and number of nominating boards or committees for candidate verification will vary. The above-mentioned Committee’s decision on candidate nomination shall be final. There will be no appeal or review in this matter. The administration shall be turned over to the Election Commission at least six months ahead of the election.
The field administration should avoid relying on the DC and UNO of the administration cadre when appointing Returning officers and Assistant Returning officers. In this case, the responsibility can be entrusted to other officers of the field administration.
The duties of the Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers should ideally be assigned to judicial officers. Before the election, there must be a level playing field. The major political parties may be required to present candidates for 250 of the 300 seats available, with the remaining 50 seats granted to their alliance. Other tiny political parties are not subject to similar requirements.
The election will be participative. All observers and monitoring teams, whether local and international, should have the chance to work independently. The voter list need updating. Purchase and storage of electoral materials should be coordinated. Army will operate as a mobile/striking force. Election officials should get training.
The Election Commission is responsible for ensuring a dispute-free election environment, which includes polling booths, voter cards, and a monitoring system. The election commission should oversee all of the candidate’s campaign activities. A candidate should appoint just one agent for each center. There will be no foreign involvement in politics or elections.
The affidavit form must include certain stringent requirements for candidates. Its purpose would be to determine the candidates’ eligibility. All presiding officers, polling stations, and law enforcement. The votes of all expatriate Bangladeshi voters have to be ensured. Finally, the intelligence reports on the activities of all stakeholders in the election must be taken.
If the above-mentioned procedure is followed, the election will be free, fair, participatory and above all, representative. It is hoped that the expectations of the people will be fulfilled in this process.
(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).