Hopes and fears with city corporation elections

The Chief Election Commissioner announced the schedule of elections to Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporations at a press conference held on March 18, 2015. According to the schedule the elections to Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka South City Corporation and Chittagong City Corporation will be held on April 28, 2015. The last date of filing nomination is March 29, scrutiny of nomination papers will be on April 01 and 02, the last date of nomination withdrawal is April 09 and symbols will be allocated on April 10. Total number of voters of 36 wards of Dhaka North City Corporation is 23,49,313. The Dhaka South City Corporation has 57 wards having 18,70,363 voters. Within Chittagong City Corporation, there are 41 wards and the total number of voters is 18,22,892. Thus, about six million voters are entitled to exercise franchise in Chittagong City Corporation and in the long-overdue polls to Dhaka North and South City Corporations. Announcing the schedule, the Chief Election Commissioner sought whole-hearted support from all political parties and city-dwellers in order to hold the elections in a free and fair atmosphere.
Everybody knows that elections to city corporations and all local government bodies are not held on party basis.
But, the de facto situation is that all local government elections are held on the party lines. Meanwhile, the ruling Awami Legue has announced its mayoral candidates for three city corporations. There are rumours, however, that the choices may change depending on the situation, particularly if, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the largest opposition party, contests the elections.
It may be recalled that the last Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) election was held in 2002 and BNP leader Sadeq Hossain Khoka was elected mayor. His tenure expired in May 2007. The army-led care-taker government attempted to hold DCC election in 2008, but could not do so as major political parties did not agree. When the Election Commission (EC), led by ATM Shamsul Huda, moved to hold the polls on May 31, 2010, the government did not agree with it. Rather, the government split the DCC into two and appointed administrators on November 4, 2011.
Another move of the EC to hold DCC elections in April 2012 failed due to a court verdict over updating the voter list. The court, however, cleared the way for holding DCC elections on May 13, 2013. Another move of the EC in mid-2013 for holding elections to City Corporation of Dhaka failed because of the complexities over boundary demarcation.
All this suggests that elections were not held as the government did not want. Now the Prime Minister desired it and in a cabinet meeting held on February 16, 2015, she asked the LGRD Minister to take steps for arranging elections to city corporations. In Chittagong City Corporation, however, election was held in 2010 and its tenure is scheduled to expire on July 25.
There are two thoughts about the announced city corporation elections among the informed circles. The first one is that the BNP and its alliance are not in a position to contest the elections. Thousands of their leaders and workers, including top brasses, are behind the bar and thousands of them are hiding. The party will not be able to field election agents even.
So, the party in power and its chosen candidates will have a walk-over. The second idea is that the election fever in city corporations will dampen the blockade and hartal (shutdown) programmes pursued by BNP-led alliance. On both counts, the government and, for that matter, the Awami League will reap political benefits. If BNP does not participate in the election, the government may also be able to tell the foreign friends that in spite of allowing political space BNP did not avail it.
Against such calculations of the ruling party, what BNP will do is not yet clear. There are some indications as appeared in the press that BNP might participate in the city corporation polls. On the government's side, if it likes to give space to the opposition, it can immediately release a host of BNP leaders, including its acting general secretary, as a conciliatory political gesture. Such moves were taken in the past. The BNP can test the strength of its vote-bank by fielding mayoral and councillor candidates. It can prepare a list of capable polling agents and submit the list to the Election Commission seeking protection from any kind of harassment and arrest during the period of election schedule (from the last date of filing nomination to the declaration of election results).
Amidst bitter political atmosphere in the country, the Election Commission can play a constructive role. It can assert itself and take initiatives to make necessary amendments to the electoral laws and the code of conduct. It can talk to major political parties. It should not say that city corporation elections are non-party elections. The January 05, 2014 election and subsequent upazila parishad elections have shaken people's confidence on the Election Commission. It can rebuild it giving legal protection to all candidates and polling agents. It can depute its own agents drawn from non-government election observation organisations in every booth of every election centre whose reports will be valued high. It can depute counter-intelligence to monitor the activities of law-enforcement agencies.
The Election Commission must prove itself very transparent on the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers. This work can even be done by the Election Commission itself. The judicial officers for summary trial for violation of electoral laws and code of conduct may be pooled from places other the city corporation areas. Local MPs and Ministers should be strictly barred from attending any public meeting, engage in campaign, opening or inaugurating any development project and making commitment for any development project  in city corporation areas from the last date of filing nomination to the declaration of final results of polls.
If the Election Commission undertakes necessary initiatives and ensures their compliance, confidence will be created among the candidates, voters and political parties. Only then, a conducive situation for holding participatory and inclusive elections to city corporations will be created. Otherwise, there will be a mockery of elections. More than 600 thousand voters in three city corporations will be disappointed in electing three mayors and 179 councillors. The nation does not want it. In the prevailing political situation, the Election Commission has an opportunity to make the city corporation elections meaningful and acceptable and can, simultaneously, establish its clean image.
The writer is an economist and columnist.
chowdhuryjafar@gmail.com