UNDP study on national polls unveiled
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
FE Report
The electoral reforms leading up to the 2008 national polls have made changes that could result in long-term improvement in governance in Bangladesh if they are sustained and institutionalised, a UNPD study concluded.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh commissioned the study entitled 'Elections in Bangladesh 2006-2009: Transforming Failure into Success', which was unveiled in the city Monday.
The study chronicles the story of the ninth parliamentary elections and analyses how the collapsed electoral process was transformed within a relatively short period of time into elections that received national and global recognition for their free, fair and credible conduct.
UNDP resident representative Stefan Priesner delivered the welcome address, while Peter Eicher, an internationally renowned election expert who guided the study as lead author and his colleague Dr Zahurul Alam, former director of Election Working Group, gave presentations on the study.
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Prof Muzaffer Ahmad of SHUJAN (Citizens for Good Governance), Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University and Munira Khan, former president of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) spoke as panel discussants.
Priesner said the study is very important as it has documented various legal reforms and technical issues of the most successful election of Bangladesh.
"The success is so noted that many countries are now looking to Bangladesh to gather knowledge on how the country has managed so well and prepared a voter list in a very short time."
"But one must not complacent and electoral reforms are a continuous process. There are many challenges lie ahead before we have a sustainable process."
The UNDP official said process on electoral reforms undertaken during the 2008 election period needs to be sustained. "For this the independence of the election commission is absolutely crucial."
Eicher said there are many things to learn from Bangladesh's transformation from troubled electoral process to successful one.
"But no system is foolproof. There is a need for political will to lay the foundation for sustainable process."
"Legal reforms and reforms of electoral registration should continue. And elimination of influence of money in politics is also a must," he said.
Muzaffer Ahmad said reforms of election-related laws should continue to prevent the convicts from contesting in the polls.
"The issue of election spending also warrants attention as a candidate on an average spent around Tk 10 million during the 2008 national elections although the election commission raised the spending limit to Tk 1.5 million."
He said the nomination process must be transparent to forestall trade and illegal transaction.
Imtiaz Ahmed said various reforms on election and electoral process are semi-success, underlining the need for doing more to make the system sustainable.
The professor of international relations wondered whether the country needs the caretaker government system any longer.
Chief Election Commissioner A T M Shamsul Huda admitted improvement is needed in many areas of reform process. "We are not superpower and everything superb will not happen overnight."
"We are trying to establish a process that will be followed when we go," he said.
Mr Huda said the commission does not need a total independence. "Our accounts should be audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and recruitment must be made by the Public Service Commission (PSC)," he said.
"There should be a check and balance," he said adding that the commission has to be involved with the political parties to bring more reforms in the electoral process.
The electoral reforms leading up to the 2008 national polls have made changes that could result in long-term improvement in governance in Bangladesh if they are sustained and institutionalised, a UNPD study concluded.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh commissioned the study entitled 'Elections in Bangladesh 2006-2009: Transforming Failure into Success', which was unveiled in the city Monday.
The study chronicles the story of the ninth parliamentary elections and analyses how the collapsed electoral process was transformed within a relatively short period of time into elections that received national and global recognition for their free, fair and credible conduct.
UNDP resident representative Stefan Priesner delivered the welcome address, while Peter Eicher, an internationally renowned election expert who guided the study as lead author and his colleague Dr Zahurul Alam, former director of Election Working Group, gave presentations on the study.
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Prof Muzaffer Ahmad of SHUJAN (Citizens for Good Governance), Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University and Munira Khan, former president of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) spoke as panel discussants.
Priesner said the study is very important as it has documented various legal reforms and technical issues of the most successful election of Bangladesh.
"The success is so noted that many countries are now looking to Bangladesh to gather knowledge on how the country has managed so well and prepared a voter list in a very short time."
"But one must not complacent and electoral reforms are a continuous process. There are many challenges lie ahead before we have a sustainable process."
The UNDP official said process on electoral reforms undertaken during the 2008 election period needs to be sustained. "For this the independence of the election commission is absolutely crucial."
Eicher said there are many things to learn from Bangladesh's transformation from troubled electoral process to successful one.
"But no system is foolproof. There is a need for political will to lay the foundation for sustainable process."
"Legal reforms and reforms of electoral registration should continue. And elimination of influence of money in politics is also a must," he said.
Muzaffer Ahmad said reforms of election-related laws should continue to prevent the convicts from contesting in the polls.
"The issue of election spending also warrants attention as a candidate on an average spent around Tk 10 million during the 2008 national elections although the election commission raised the spending limit to Tk 1.5 million."
He said the nomination process must be transparent to forestall trade and illegal transaction.
Imtiaz Ahmed said various reforms on election and electoral process are semi-success, underlining the need for doing more to make the system sustainable.
The professor of international relations wondered whether the country needs the caretaker government system any longer.
Chief Election Commissioner A T M Shamsul Huda admitted improvement is needed in many areas of reform process. "We are not superpower and everything superb will not happen overnight."
"We are trying to establish a process that will be followed when we go," he said.
Mr Huda said the commission does not need a total independence. "Our accounts should be audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and recruitment must be made by the Public Service Commission (PSC)," he said.
"There should be a check and balance," he said adding that the commission has to be involved with the political parties to bring more reforms in the electoral process.