Aspiring candidates have begun to file in appeal at the Election Commission challenging the rejection to run for general elections on December 30.
Last reported until 7:00pm, a total of 82 candidates filed in the appeals at the commission office in Agargaon, our correspondent reports from the spot.
The list includes Golam Maula Roni, who swapped sides from Awami League into BNP, to run in the elections from Patuakhali-3 in this election.
Rejected applicants can appeal for candidature at the commission until December 5, which will go into hearing on December 6, 7 and 8 before a final call.
HOW MANY APPEALS EXPECTED?
The Election Commission has cancelled 786 nominations during its scrutiny process before clearing candidates to contest for the general elections.
It was over 25 per cent of the nominations out of the total 3,065 filed – including party nominations and independent candidates – until November 28.
Among the bigshots rejected are: BNP leader Amanullah Aman, Krishak Sramik Janata League (KSJL) President Abdul Kader Siddiqui Bir Uttam, and Golam Maula Roni, who swapped sides to contest on BNP ticket for this election.
WHEN IS THE ELECTION?
Election Commission has revised polls schedule, deferring the 11th general election by a week to December 30 – a decision taken in November.
As per the schedule, November 28 was the deadline to submit nomination papers, December 2 was the date for scrutiny and December 9 the last date for withdrawal.
Throughout the last half of November, major political parties were busy selecting their chosen candidates for the 300 constituencies across Bangladesh.
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The recent image of a Jubo League leader carrying a ballot unit panel of an electronic voting machine (EVM) after snatching it during a by-poll in Chattogram's Boalkhali upazila is the latest addition to a growing list of examples as to why EVMs may not be suitable for conducting a free and fair election in Bangladesh. Neither the assistant presiding officer nor the on-duty members of the law enforcement agencies were able to prevent the mighty Jubo League's union level leader Nirmalendu Dey Sumon from taking the EVM ballot unit panel away.
They were unable to recover it either; Awami League's union President Ratan Chowdhury recovered the panel and returned it to the polling centre.
This incident occurred only a few days after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal said no one had yet made a sound and objective complaint about the use of EVMs, and the commission had taken a stand in favour of EVMs after conducting several tests. Would the CEC now, at the least, agree that his several tests didn't include robbing of ballot-equivalent parts of their very expensive toy? Clearly he has been oblivious to the arguments made by most of the political parties, except the ruling Awami League and its allies. There's even stronger opposition to the idea of using EVMs among the citizenry and civil society organisations. Have the polling officers not blamed these machines' inefficiency for slowing down the voting process, which left many voters frustrated and contributed to lower turnout?
While speaking at a workshop in Cox's Bazar on March 11, the CEC, perhaps unwittingly, revealed the Election Commission's obsession with EVMs when he said, "The Election Commission is always in favour of conducting elections using EVMs. We are also working to find innovative modern technology for future elections." His comment that "so far, there has been no objective complaint about rigged elections using EVMs" suggests that he has conveniently forgotten that these EVMs do not have any option for verifying voting records, owing to a design fault of not including the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system.
Even though it has abandoned the ambitious plan to hold 50 percent of the next parliamentary election through EVMs due to the country's ongoing financial crisis, the EC still appears to be aiming at using EVMs in quite a significant number of parliamentary seats. On March 15, the commission decided to ask the finance ministry for allocating Tk 1,260 crore (equivalent to more than $1 billion) for repairing 110,000 EVMs. This means each EVM unit will cost Tk 115,000, which is nearly half the purchase price.
It was reported in this daily that each EVM was bought for Tk 235,000, a price 11 times costlier than neighbouring India. When better EVMs (including VVPAT) cost much less, then why does the EC want to repair discredited junk?
Earlier, it was reported in the media that about 40,000 EVMs were beyond repair. When these EVMs were introduced, the EC bought 150,000 EVMs, which means there's none, or very few, usable EVMs available now. Even then, the commission is insistent on having some EVMs in the upcoming parliamentary election.
According to Election Commissioner Anisur Rahman, the Election Commission just wants a pledge that its request would be approved. He told the media, "If we are assured of the required funds, we will go for the work immediately. We can even make half payment to the Machine Tools Factory in this fiscal year and the rest in the next fiscal year." This shows the EC's resolve to go the extra mile to have as many EVMs being used in the next election as possible.
It was reported in this daily that each EVM was bought for Tk 235,000, a price 11 times costlier than neighbouring India. When better EVMs (including VVPAT) cost much less, then why does the EC want to repair discredited junks?
Such an extraordinary emphasis on having elections in some constituencies make us wonder whether there's more to this than meets the eye. It may sound cynical, but questions can be raised whether the intention is to allow the workers of the ruling party to cover their unlawful act of pressing voting buttons for their candidates in the name of assisting the voters. Besides, allowing election officials up to one percent of the voters in a polling booth to cast votes through EVMs in the event of fingerprint mismatch also increases risks of manipulation.
The amount of money that the Election Commission is seeking to repair faulty EVMs is almost double the money allocated for the last parliamentary election – which was also a record in our electoral history. Available data shows that the allocation for the last national assembly election was Tk 700 crore, when the voter number was 104 million. The EC's original plan was to have voting in 150 constituencies through EVMs, and for that it sought Tk 8,711 crore, which would have cost us 14 times more than the previous election. In a way, the ongoing economic predicament has saved us from an exorbitant waste.
Under these circumstances, it would be sensible to abandon such a wasteful wish, and concentrate on other crucial preparatory work for the coming election instead. CEC Habibul Awal, in his public statements, has acknowledged that there is a crisis. The reason for the crisis is evident in his words, "We still do not see a consensus among parties regarding the upcoming general election, which is essential. We do not want any political crisis before or during the elections."
It's well understood that the CEC doesn't want to take the role of a mediator, but getting an agreement from the contending parties on the rules of the game beforehand is not someone else's responsibility.
Kamal Ahmed is an independent journalist. His Twitter handle is @ahmedka1
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The Daily Star has launched a new series of talk show ‘The Election Talks 2018’ where experts analyse all aspects of the upcoming general elections, contemporary politics, events and incidents.
In today’s episode chief editor of Ekushey TV Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul talks with the show host Journalist Golam Mortoza.
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Ruling 14-party alliance today alleged that opposition BNP and its alliance Jatiya Oikyafront are trying to make army and December 30 elections “questionable”.
“Army is deployed as per the demands of BNP and Jatiya Oikyafront. Now they are trying to make the army questionable,” 14-party alliance leader Dilip Barua told reporters after handing over a letter to the EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed.
Dilip Barua led a delegation that protested attack on Awami League activists and sought EC's steps on stopping the conspiracy of BNP and Oikyafront.
“They [BNP and Jatiya Oikyafront] are trying to make December 30 election dubious by raising one after another false allegations” Dilip also said.
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Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said he would "strongly urge" the government to keep the National Identity services under the Election Commission's jurisdiction.
His remark comes amidst a government initiative to consolidate civic services, including birth registration and national identity registration services, under a single entity -- "Civil Registration Commission".
"We will strongly voice our opinions in the law-making process. Wherever opinions are needed, we will give [our opinions]. The entire commission is in agreement," the CEC told reporters at the EC headquarters in the capital.
The CEC's statement followed a protest by EC staff who were against the potential transfer of NID operations. They issued a seven-day ultimatum, threatening further action if no progress is made by March 12.
Nasir Uddin clarified that while discussions are ongoing, he believes the government has not finalised the transfer.
"We will inform the government in writing that it should stay under the EC. We will inform the government on an urgent basis."
The issue stems from a recent inter-ministerial meeting reviewing the draft of the 'Civil Registration (Commission) Ordinance, 2025'.
Previously, in 2023, the government had enacted legislation to move NID operations to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a law the EC now seeks to repeal.
The CEC said that NID services are intrinsically linked to voter registration, developed through 17 years of dedicated effort by EC officials.
He expressed confidence that the government will consider the EC's perspective and address any informational gaps.
"However, we are a constitutional body. If the government makes a law, we have to obey the law. But we will urgently raise our opinion in the law-making process," Nasir Uddin stated.
Several other EC officials echoed the CEC's sentiments.
SM Asaduzzaman, director general of the Electoral Training Institute, said if the NID operation is removed from EC jurisdiction, the elections would be under threat. "We have submitted a memorandum [to the CEC] expressing our concerns."
Monir Hossain, convener of the Bangladesh Election Commission Officers' Association, said, "We have informed the commission, given time, and expect visible progress by next Wednesday. Otherwise, officials and employees across the country, including the EC Secretariat, will go for human chains on March 13. Even then, if our demands are not met, we will go on more stringent programmes, including a work abstention."
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At least 20 BNP leaders and activists including its Khagrachhari district unit President Wadud Bhuiyan were injured in an attack allegedly by Awami League men while campaigning in Ramgarh upazila today.
Wadud, also a former MP and chairman of Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board, came under attack around 11:30am when he along with his party men was electioneering for Jatiya Oikyafront candidate Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan Farhad, BNP sources said.
At least 20 BNP men including senior leaders of district unit Jobo Dal, Chhatra Dal and other front organisations were injured in the attack by the “ruling party men”, they claimed.
The injured were given treatment at Khagrachhari District Sadar Hospital.
Confirming the news of the clash between AL and BNP men, Ahmar Uzzaman, superintendent of police in Khagrachhari told The Daily Star that police later rushed to the spot and contained the situation.
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