After Khulna polls, Election Commission starts soul-searching quietly

After Khulna polls, Election Commission
starts soul-searching quietly

The Election Commission may seem
indifferent to the allegations of irregularities
but quietly says it will learn from its
experience in conducting the polls in Khulna
city and correct possible ‘flaws and
shortcomings’ in future.
The election last week saw a voter turnout of
62 percent in 286 polling centres, except for
the three where voting was stalled due to
irregularities, according to EC.
The EC said the election was held in an
“excellent, nice and festive” environment
despite the BNP’s allegations of rigging in
more than 100 centres and election monitoring
agencies’ mention of 12 types of irregularities.
Formal results showed that 91.38 percent,
97.6 percent and 99.94 percent votes were
cast in three centres, which emerged as
disturbing evidence of rigging.
Also, nine centres saw more than 80 percent
of “voter turnout” and 45 centres saw more
than 70 percent, which raises questions over
the election.
Election Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam did
not find it abnormal when more than 90
percent votes were cast at some centres in
the local election.
He believed voters were excited as the
candidates had joined the foray with their
party symbols and also councillor candidates
launched an intense campaign to persuade
people to vote.
“Yes, there was only a single ballot left to be
stamped in a centre, but it had 247 of its
votes cancelled; we cannot claim 90 percent
votes were cast,” he told bdnews24.com.
He said the interest of councillor candidates
turned the election into a nail-biting one and
80 percent to 88 percent votes were cast for
the councillor posts.
“We had suspended voting in three centres
when there was a complaint of irregularities,
but it never happened that voters couldn’t
vote as ballot papers were all used up,” he
said.
“So, you cannot generalise saying the KCC
polls had irregularities,” Islam said adding
there would have been more votes cast in
those centres, if irregularities had been
practised.
The EC has already analysed the KCC election
results on Thursday. “We have some
dissatisfaction over the entire election process
and agreed to get over the shortcomings in
future.”
However, he said at present there has been no
new measure taken over Tuesday’s election.
“The centre that saw fewer voters was located
in an area that houses mostly workers who
were absent; on the other hand, councillors
might had been more active in the centre
which saw voters to pour in. Something might
have happened in the centre that had 99. 94
percent votes cast.”
Election Working Group or EWG Director Abdul
Alim said they monitored 145 centres and
witnessed stray incidents of violence and
irregularities.
Violence, illegal stamping, obstruction,
providing transport to voters, preventing
election monitors to enter centres, campaign
within 400 yards of polling centres, and favour
to specific candidates by law-enforcement
agencies were some of the irregularities, said
Alim.
“These incidents were very few and that did
not influence the election outcome,” he said.
BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul
Kabir Rizvi, however, accused the EC of
favouring the Awami League-backed
candidate.
“The Election Commission has yielded to the
government; it is nothing but a compromised
copy of government,” he said.
Islam said political parties should follow the
election rules and assign approved agents to
all polling centres, rather than complaining
against the EC.
A committee headed by EC Joint Secretary
Khondaker Mizanur Rahman has been formed
to investigate the three centres where voting
was suspended. Other members of the
committee are Deputy-Secretary Farhad
Hossain and Senior Assistant Secretary Shah
Alam.
The committee has been asked to submit the
report by May 27.
source: bdnews24