As I write this article, voting in the fourth phase of the upazila elections was in progress on Sunday (March 23). I have read and followed with great interest, the views expressed by experts on the already completed three phases of upazila elections in the media - both print and electronic.
In addition to representatives from different political parties, members of the civil society involved in monitoring the different phases of the upazila elections have analysed the outcome of the elections, starting from the first phase that took place on February 19 to the third phase that took place on March 15, 2014.
There has been criticism of the Election Commission and also references to the impact of rebels within the two important political parties - the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - vying for posts where candidates had already been finalised by the parties themselves. There has also been discussion and analysis of the controversial and gradual rise of candidates who received support and cognisance from the Jamaat-e-Islami.
There was little violence during the first phase of this electoral process, but it grew somewhat as time passed during the subsequent phases. The officials of the Election Commission and the law-enforcement agencies of the government tried their best to stop any forceful seizure of voting booths by supporters of different candidates. Despite personnel constraint they managed to bring the situation under reasonable control but their efforts were criticised by the representatives belonging to the BNP, whenever they lost any particular upazila in the election. Similar accusations were hurled by the Awami League contenders in case of their defeat. There was postponement of election in the Sreepur upazila due to violence. Overall, one can only note that despite evolving difficulties the government and the Election Commission have been able to move the process towards a successful conclusion.
It is important to understand the denotation of the upazila election itself. Ershad during his presidency changed the format of thanas within our context of local governance. He introduced the upazila system and also brought forth the concept of elected chairman for upazilas in 1982. But the concept of elected chairmen was abandoned during the 2001-06 tenure of the BNP government. No election to the upazilas was held during this period. The election process was revived by the Awami League after its electoral victory in 2008. During its tenure in government from 2009, upazila elections carried forward the concept of local governance. This dynamics has now been repeated in 2014 after the latest parliamentary elections held on January 05, 2014. This has underlined the present government's belief in democratic governance. The fact that parties associated with the BNP participated in this non-political exercise has strengthened people's rights. It will also enhance accountability.
It would be useful at this point to evaluate the progression of the voting momentum over the different phases of the on-going upazila elections. It would shed light on the inter-active engagement that existed on the ground as the drama unfolded throughout the country. A summary of the process is given below.
The first phase of the election, held on February 19, covered 97 upazilas. There was a 59.19 per cent voter turnout. However, out of the total votes of 16.4 million, 10.1 million votes were cast and 9.65 million votes were found valid. There were 63 incidents of fake vote casting and 38 incidents occurred where unidentified persons tried to snatch items from ballot boxes. This was negligible given the fact that there were 6995 polling centres and 43,290 polling booths. The Election Commission later revealed that the vote cancellations were mostly due to misplaced stamping on ballot papers and confusion between symbols and ink smudges. Forty-three candidates were elected chairmen with the support of BNP, 34 with the support of Awami League, 12 with the support of Jamaat, one with the support of Jatiyo Party. Others included: one elected with the support of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS), two with the support of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), and three others without any particular party's support.
The second phase of the election was held on February 27 and covered 117 upazilas with a total number of 19.5 million voters. There were 8032 polling centres and 102,258 polling booths. Fifty-two candidates supported by the BNP were elected chairmen, 45 with the support of Awami League, 8 with the support of Jamaat. Others included 3 elected with the support of the PCJSS, one with the support of UPDF, one with the support of JP. There were also two Independents. The voter turnout was 62 per cent. It would be worthwhile to note here that in the Chittagong Hill districts, the candidates backed by the Awami League failed to make the mark. Another interesting aspect appeared to be the rejection by the voters of the rebel candidates who had surfaced without the support of either the Awami League or the BNP. There was, as anticipated, some stray cases of violence.
The third phase of the election was held on March 15 and covered 81 upazilas with a total number of 13.3 million voters. There were more than 5000 polling centres. Voting was suspended in 26 of them due to transgressions of electoral rules of conduct by activists from different political parties. These included illegal stuffing of votes into ballot boxes, forcible stamping on ballot papers and violence (that led to the death of two persons) in certain areas. The Kachua upazila in Chandpur, the Dagonbhuyian upazila in Feni and Babuganj upazila in Barisal received special attention both in the print and the electronic media. It was reported in the print media that Awami League-supported candidates had won in 40 upazilas, the BNP-supported candidates in 28 upazilas and the Jamaat-supported candidates in seven upazilas. The Jatiyo party failed to obtain even one victory but the PCJSS-supported candidates won in two upazilas. Due to alleged non-electoral practice, eight BNP-supported candidates boycotted participating in the elections at the last moment. This was also happened in the case of one Awami League rebel candidate. Their withdrawal led to Awami League-supported candidates winning these Upazilas.
After the completion of the third phase, the widening gap in results obtained by BNP victorious candidates has been reduced with Awami League victorious candidates drawing almost even. It has been a surprise but Jamaat-supported candidates have won nearly 9.0 per cent of the total posts of chairmen. It would also be interesting to point out here that the BNP's lead over Awami League (according to the print media) in the category of posts of vice-chairmen has increased as BNP-backed female candidates have progressively done better in each phase. According to media reports, in 291 upazilas, up to now, of the total posts of 582 vice-chairman, BNP has won 221 seats, Awami League 118 and Jamaat 103. Others, including Jatiyo Party, have won 73 seats.
Leading politicians from opposing parties have blamed rival supporters for the increasing level of violence. One can only hope that all sides will refrain from action that is not consistent with acceptable electoral practice. Conducive and peaceful atmosphere during this important democratic process needs to be maintained. This is required for a free and fair election.
In this context, it is vital that the Election Commission receives full support from all the relevant government law and order agencies. Any departure from this dynamics will be viewed as unacceptable by election observers, the civil society and people interested in the creation of confidence so that elections can be held by an elected government and the Election Commission without the travail of having to create a caretaker paradigm.
One has to realise that the most important aspect of the upazila electoral process is that all political parties are participating in this exercise. This is a great movement forward and the momentum must not be lost.
There have been technical glitches and these need to be investigated very carefully after the electoral process is over. Efforts will also have to be made to educate voters at the grass-roots level about some of the steps that have to be fulfilled so that their vote is not thrust aside due to flaws.
The other important feature that needs to be taken forward is the strengthening of the upazila administration, the upazila parishad and the district councils. Completing the electoral phases should be seen only as the first step reflecting correct political will of all participants in this exercise. The decision of the present government to connect all district and upazila offices under a single internet network by June next year will be a welcome measure. It will facilitate necessary connectivity within the two-tier administrations. We need to remember that if we can strengthen local government, this can play a significant role in our future economic development in sectors like agriculture, livestock, fisheries, education, public health, disaster management and expansion of solar power as part of renewable energy alternative and creation and maintenance of public infrastructure at the rural level. Necessary funding will have to be provided so that local government can undertake required initiative in this regard.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance. mzamir@dhaka.net
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