Treat policing the upcoming national elections as a historic responsibility and work towards ensuring a credible, peaceful and inclusive vote, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus directs district police chiefs.
The direction from the head of post-uprising government of Bangladesh comes while speaking at a meeting with the newly appointed Superintendents of Police (SPs) from 64 districts at his Tejgaon office in the capital on Thursday,
"This is not just another election. Those who were martyred in the July mass uprising gave their lives for this. The election we are preparing for is owed to their sacrifice," he tells the officers.
He says the uprising opened the path to a "new Bangladesh", and the national polls-scheduled to be held alongside a referendum-would provide the opportunity to translate that vision into reality. "The referendum will lay the foundation for the Bangladesh of tomorrow - a foundation strong enough to carry this nation forward for the next hundred years."
Yunus stresses that international attention would be sharply focused on the polls, with foreign observers and delegations expected to be present. "The world will be watching. It is our responsibility to make this election an example, something the observers can present to the world as a model," he says.
Reflecting on Bangladesh's history of disputed and contested elections, the Prime Adviser urged police officials to break from the past. "We all know what previous elections were called - farcical, manipulative, theatrical. This time we must rise above that and establish a new standard," he says, adding that the police had a "central role" in that transformation.
Encouraging initiative, creativity and professionalism among police personnel, he reminds the SPs that not every instruction could be written on paper. "You must think for yourselves - how your work can be done even better. How we make this election clean, fair and dignified."
Yunus also suggests that internal competition within the police force at district or divisional level could raise morale and performance, proposing an award system to recognise exemplary work.
The meeting was attended by Home Affairs Adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Special Assistant to the Prime Adviser Md Khoda Box Chowdhury, Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry Nasimul Gani, and Inspector-General of Police Baharul Alam.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com