Can the EC hold the polls in December?
Mohammad Ali Sattar | Monday, 25 August 2008
For obvious reasons all eyes are now set on the Election commission (EC). The political parties and other stakeholders are getting apprehensive of the situation. The question is whether the EC would be able to complete registration and the reforms of the political parties and hold the ninth parliamentary polls in December, as announced, due to the huge unfinished tasks.
A valid question is whether it would be possible for the EC to finish, before the polls, the tasks and formalities it has taken. The EC wasted much time to announce its roadmap in July last year. It also took a big agenda, for the political parties. None of it could be implemented until now. The EC is yet to start the process of registration of the political parties. The political parties were to get registered by June this year. The law for the purpose was amended the other day, by way of Representation of People Ordinance (RPO) 2008. The government and the EC took, too long, to do it. Completion of registration would obviously take more time. And without registration, the EC-road map states, the parties would not qualify to contest the polls. How then, would the national elections be held in December?
Again, there are other formalities to meet. The political parties are to sit and deliberate to complete the required reforms as well as the amendments to their constitutions. They need to elect new committees to meet the registration criteria. None of it is in sight either. If the political parties are expected to get their documents ready for the EC, they would have otherwise been required to complete the exercises by now, to allow the EC and other relevant authorities to prepare for the elections. These are huge tasks! But the political parties could not complete their tasks as political activities are banned under emergency.
Without going into the blame-game, a look into the things, as they are, shows that the EC is not independent of the executive as yet. It is still very much a part of the government. It has to abide by the government. However hard the EC is pushed by the political parties, it would not budge if the government does not have the intention to move it. The caretaker government (CG) would also like to forego things, the burden of which it took on its own. The task of streamlining too many sectors is much too complex. What is the outcome of the exercise? Does the EC clearly know its priorities? The national elections and transfer of power should top the list of its agenda for the immediate future.
Could the government complete dialogues with the political parties? What was the objective of the dialogues? What has been achieved out of the dialogues? The dialogues moved in a slower pace than expected. Did the dialogues achieve the intended political reforms?
The caretaker government amended the Representation of People's Order (RPO) 1972 to incorporate the provision for mandatory registration of the political parties.
The political parties will have only about eight weeks to get themselves registered with the EC. The EC will then have to announce the election schedule by early first week of November if it wants the polls to be held in December. The time is running out, and it is running out very fast. The government and the EC must sit now to gear up their work to meet the deadline.
The main stakeholders, the political parties, can do nothing except yelling at the EC and the CG until the new electoral provisions are at hand and the state of emergency is withdrawn to move for the registration. If the new provisions are ready, the political parties would still have to register themselves under emergency.
Some analysts feel, the political parties should prepare for the polls. If the government is willing to allow the parties to carry out the reforms and amendments, they will have to be allowed to do the same under emergency. If necessary, they should go ahead with their party councils. But the main problem is the 'time'. To convene nationals councils, and form different committees, for the elections, at different levels, the political parties will require considerable time. The remaining two months, before the polls, might be very tough to do all these things. The political leaders oppose many provisions for registration, which they consider would impose restrictions and hamper their functioning. They termed the criteria for registration 'unrealistic and ambitious'. But the EC thinks otherwise. It still expects them to bring about the reforms and amendments with a quickfire move. If the parties think of involving their committees at the grassroots, the formalities will be tough to meet and the same will then have to come from the top without the consent from the lower levels. It would fail the very objective and the principles of democracy for the reforms and the amendments.
Another proposed change in the electoral laws would necessitate the parties to snap ties with their front organisations and elect new committees through councils to qualify for the registration. None of the parties is willing to do this. Consequently, a legal conflict might be in the offing between the parties and the EC. The major parties have been vocal for quite some time now. But if the national polls were to be held in December, the rules of the game need to be changed.
The holding the councils for amending the party constitutions should have been allowed much earlier. The parties cannot function under the emergency. The month of Ramadan is round the corner. The caretaker government and the EC want to hold the upazila polls in October. All these make the election scenario gloomier.
The major parties are asking the EC to focus on parliamentary polls, setting aside all other agenda including the upazila polls set for October. But election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain has remarked it should not take much time for the political parties to amend their constitutions.
As it stands today, the EC and the political parties have become each other's critics. In fact, the EC is not 'independent.' The political parties should know it better. Even the caretaker government failed to make the Election Commission independent. But for fair and free polls, independence of Election Commission is a must.
A valid question is whether it would be possible for the EC to finish, before the polls, the tasks and formalities it has taken. The EC wasted much time to announce its roadmap in July last year. It also took a big agenda, for the political parties. None of it could be implemented until now. The EC is yet to start the process of registration of the political parties. The political parties were to get registered by June this year. The law for the purpose was amended the other day, by way of Representation of People Ordinance (RPO) 2008. The government and the EC took, too long, to do it. Completion of registration would obviously take more time. And without registration, the EC-road map states, the parties would not qualify to contest the polls. How then, would the national elections be held in December?
Again, there are other formalities to meet. The political parties are to sit and deliberate to complete the required reforms as well as the amendments to their constitutions. They need to elect new committees to meet the registration criteria. None of it is in sight either. If the political parties are expected to get their documents ready for the EC, they would have otherwise been required to complete the exercises by now, to allow the EC and other relevant authorities to prepare for the elections. These are huge tasks! But the political parties could not complete their tasks as political activities are banned under emergency.
Without going into the blame-game, a look into the things, as they are, shows that the EC is not independent of the executive as yet. It is still very much a part of the government. It has to abide by the government. However hard the EC is pushed by the political parties, it would not budge if the government does not have the intention to move it. The caretaker government (CG) would also like to forego things, the burden of which it took on its own. The task of streamlining too many sectors is much too complex. What is the outcome of the exercise? Does the EC clearly know its priorities? The national elections and transfer of power should top the list of its agenda for the immediate future.
Could the government complete dialogues with the political parties? What was the objective of the dialogues? What has been achieved out of the dialogues? The dialogues moved in a slower pace than expected. Did the dialogues achieve the intended political reforms?
The caretaker government amended the Representation of People's Order (RPO) 1972 to incorporate the provision for mandatory registration of the political parties.
The political parties will have only about eight weeks to get themselves registered with the EC. The EC will then have to announce the election schedule by early first week of November if it wants the polls to be held in December. The time is running out, and it is running out very fast. The government and the EC must sit now to gear up their work to meet the deadline.
The main stakeholders, the political parties, can do nothing except yelling at the EC and the CG until the new electoral provisions are at hand and the state of emergency is withdrawn to move for the registration. If the new provisions are ready, the political parties would still have to register themselves under emergency.
Some analysts feel, the political parties should prepare for the polls. If the government is willing to allow the parties to carry out the reforms and amendments, they will have to be allowed to do the same under emergency. If necessary, they should go ahead with their party councils. But the main problem is the 'time'. To convene nationals councils, and form different committees, for the elections, at different levels, the political parties will require considerable time. The remaining two months, before the polls, might be very tough to do all these things. The political leaders oppose many provisions for registration, which they consider would impose restrictions and hamper their functioning. They termed the criteria for registration 'unrealistic and ambitious'. But the EC thinks otherwise. It still expects them to bring about the reforms and amendments with a quickfire move. If the parties think of involving their committees at the grassroots, the formalities will be tough to meet and the same will then have to come from the top without the consent from the lower levels. It would fail the very objective and the principles of democracy for the reforms and the amendments.
Another proposed change in the electoral laws would necessitate the parties to snap ties with their front organisations and elect new committees through councils to qualify for the registration. None of the parties is willing to do this. Consequently, a legal conflict might be in the offing between the parties and the EC. The major parties have been vocal for quite some time now. But if the national polls were to be held in December, the rules of the game need to be changed.
The holding the councils for amending the party constitutions should have been allowed much earlier. The parties cannot function under the emergency. The month of Ramadan is round the corner. The caretaker government and the EC want to hold the upazila polls in October. All these make the election scenario gloomier.
The major parties are asking the EC to focus on parliamentary polls, setting aside all other agenda including the upazila polls set for October. But election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain has remarked it should not take much time for the political parties to amend their constitutions.
As it stands today, the EC and the political parties have become each other's critics. In fact, the EC is not 'independent.' The political parties should know it better. Even the caretaker government failed to make the Election Commission independent. But for fair and free polls, independence of Election Commission is a must.