Bangladesh has witnessed one more fake election yesterday, 28 April 2015. The process of electing people’s representatives to the City Corporations of Dhaka and Chittagong has been marked by fraudulence. Rigging and ballot stuffing by ruling party cadres, polling officers, and law-enforcement agents reigned all across the two cities, as witnessed by human rights defenders associated with the Asian Human Rights Commission.
Widespread violence by rival groups of the ruling political camps prevented electors from approaching the booths and casting their votes. By mid-day, the police and polling officers had asked voters of several jurisdictions to leave the polling centres, informing that their votes had already been cast. Many candidates were themselves not allowed to vote. Poling agents of all candidates other than those associated with the ruling party – Bangladesh Awami League – were driven away; some were assaulted and arrested by law-enforcement agents.
Contestants reportedly filed written complaints to the Election Commission officials; however, their complaints did not yield any action in terms of preventing violence and stopping blatant electoral manipulation. As a result, pro-opposition and independent candidates boycotted the election by the afternoon.
The police barred journalists from covering news, preventing the creation of photos and footage documenting the rigging. At least a dozen journalists were assaulted and their cameras were snatched or broken. Despite challenges, the media has succeeded in exposing electoral manipulations in the newspapers and private television channels.
Ironically, Mr. Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed, Chief Election Commissioner, has claimed the election have been held in a “fair, peaceful and festive manner”, while speaking to the press. The CEC or the Election Commission did not take any credible step to maintain order and its own control over the electoral process. However, the CEC has officially brushed aside all allegations of manipulation, terming them as “some stray incidents”. In fact, the Election Commission has paved the way for the ruling party of the government, which had declared its desire to win the city polls “at any cost”.
It is a fact that credible and competent institutions do not exist in the country; be it the law-enforcement agencies, the Election Commission or the Judiciary. The people of Bangladesh, in general, believe that there won’t be any action initiated against any of the perpetrators, except the activists of the opposition. The Election Commission, the law-enforcement agencies, the government of the day, and all the successive political regimes should share the shame of what has happened yesterday in Dhaka and Chittagong. The civil society, which fail to act in an unbiased fashion, and fails to uphold normative standards in performing their role in society should also share the shame.
These elections in Bangladesh showcase the state of the country’s basic institutions, which severely lack competence, independence, and professionalism in upholding the rule of law. And, lording over these weak institutions is an unhinged political culture, with entrenched habits of grabbing political office by force rather than through constructive actions.
Such elections are also the main reason behind many crimes being committed by high profile elites who avail the benefits of a flawed criminal justice system and weakened institutions. Fake elections, like what was orchestrated on January 5, 2014, and the one that took place yesterday, contribute further to increase public distrust in the workings of the state.
Anyone who is interested in seeing a progressive and democratic Bangladesh in the near future should come out of the illusion that there will be “investigations” into the manipulation of the election, also known as “election engineering” in the country.
Instead of wasting time and resources, there is a burning need to build the institutions to the extent that they can serve the aspirations of citizens who pay their tax-money and strive for democracy and justice in the society at large. Failure or delay in doing so will cost more lives and cause more frustrations under the prevailing authoritarian and chaotic regime. In such circumstances, without necessary attention being given to creating independent institutions, the most dangerous radical forces stand to gain the most, the growth of which will create even greater problems in terms of national security and external security in the region.
