Polls Monitoring: Number of local organisations to be cut by half
The number of local organisations that will monitor the next general polls is likely to be reduced by nearly half compared to previous elections.
The election commission yesterday decided at a meeting that a total of 68 local organisations would get registration to monitor the 12th parliamentary election.
EC Secretary Jahangir Alam said the EC in a public notice following the meeting published a list containing names of 68 local organisations as election observers.
Jahangir said any individual or organisation can raise objections about the names on the list. However, he noted, the objections should be lodged with the EC within the next 15 working days.
The list will be finalised after considering such objections, he added.
Ahead of the last December 30, 2018 parliamentary polls, the EC provided registration to 118 local organisations.
The EC secretary also said the local observers were selected on the basis of a guideline. "According to the policy, politically affiliated organisations are not qualified for being observers," he noted.
The local observers must be non-partisan and politically neutral, EC officials said, adding that organisations with affiliation with any party cannot be a member of an election observation body.
The registration of local election observers was introduced before the 9th parliamentary election in 2008. Based on the Representation of the People Order bill, the EC developed a policy for selecting local election observers.
This year the EC started the selection process in February and a total of 210 organisations applied to the election commission (EC) for registering their names as election observers.
Later, the EC shortlisted 94 organisations and enquired about them with assistance from two intelligence agencies. Certain questions were raised about the political affiliation of over two dozen applicants, said EC sources with knowledge of the list.
Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said the EC used a number of tools to check the competency of the applicants.
Commenting on the selection and registration process, EC Brigadier General (Retired) Md Ahsan Habib Khan said, "The Election Commission Secretariat selected the organisations after proper verification of all necessary information and following the policy thoroughly."
The EC is set to provide registration to 39 new organisations.
From the previous list, some 40 organisations applied this year for registration again. 29 of them are likely to get registration this year, too. They include Manabadhikar O Samaj Unnayan Sanghtha, Seba Social Foundation, Agradut Sangstha, Activity for Reformation of Basic Need, Highlight Foundation, Move Foundation, Democracy Watch, Jatiya Nirbachon Parjabekkhan Parishad, Disability Inquisition Activities, Abdul Momen Khan Memorial Foundation, Esdap, Bibi Asia Foundation, Lutfor Rahman Bhuiyan Foundation, Samaj Unnyan Prayash, Jubo Unnyan Sanghtha, Taltola Jubo Unnayan Sangstha, Banchte Shekha, Association for Social Development of Bangladesh, and Institute for Environment and Development.
The much talked-about organisations -- Election Monitoring Forum and SAARC Human Rights Foundation -- did not get registration this time. Both the organisations are headed by Abed Ali.
Election Monitoring Forum recently brought four foreigners -- two journalists and two social workers -- and introduced them as "international election observers" to the EC and various other organisations. SAARC Human Rights Foundation was criticised for its "partisan" role in the parliamentary election in 2018.
During the 2018 national election, about 26,000 individuals from 81 organisations were approved as observers by the EC. In the 2014 polls, about 8,900 individuals monitored the election when 153 MPs were elected unopposed and many opposition parties boycotted the election.
In 2008, 1.59 lakh local observers monitored the election and in 2001, the number was 2.18 lakh.
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