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?

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Two by-polls, 29 years apart – yet so similar?

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.

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Political dialogues: The long road to nowhere

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

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said a group of political parties joined hands with the BNP-Jamaat alliance to try to oust her government and push the country into an era of darkness again.

"Mr Manna, Dr Kamal Hossain, Communist Party, left leaning parties are now tagged with BNP-Jamaat alliance for forging a movement to oust the Awami League government," she said.

Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, was speaking at the opening of a weeklong programme marking the golden jubilee of Bangladesh Krishak League's founding anniversary.

The programme was held at Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh while the prime minister joined it virtually.

"What is their motive behind wanting to oust the government?" – she asked. "(It is just) to deprive the people from all the facilities that are being given by the government," she said.

She said that there are some political leaders in the country who never stand by the people during any crisis, but are busy talking about movements to oust the Awami League government.

"What is Awami League government's fault? Why do they want to oust it?" she wondered.

Hasina said people voted Awami League to power in 2008 national polls in support of the party's election manifesto. 

"In that manifesto we had declared Vision 2021. I am expressing my gratitude towards the people of the country for electing us repeatedly," she said.

She also said that the government has attained the targets declared in the party's election manifestoes.

"We have promoted our country from least developed to developing, while we were celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of our independence," she said.

Referring to her critics, she again wondered why they don't like Bangladesh's graduation to a developing country.

She said that the government has taken steps to change the fate of all people, including those in the grassroots.

The PM said that the government has given importance on the research on agriculture so that the country gets more positive results in food production along with other related issues.

Bangladesh Krishak League President Samir Chandra and former presidents of Krishak League Dr Mirza Abdul Jalil and Motahar Hossain Molla, former Krishak League general secretaries Mizanur Rahman and Harun Or Rashid Hawladar and current secretary Umme Kulsum also spoke at the programme.

A video documentary on Krishak League was screened at the programme.

The prime minister also unveiled 'Krishak Kantha', a publication of Krishak League.

That a day would come when the Election Commission would do anything beyond perfunctory efforts to stop electoral irregularities was unthinkable even a few days ago. But the unthinkable has happened. The suspension of the Gaibandha-5 by-poll, after voting was stopped in 50 out of 145 centres amid widespread irregularities and a mass boycott by all but one candidate, is an extraordinary move, an exercise of the highest power granted to the EC. We welcome the EC for showing such courage – a rarity for bureaucrats-turned-commissioners – which is perhaps the only silver lining to an otherwise botched operation. But courage alone will not be enough to ensure fair elections, nor can it make up for the EC's – and by extension, the administration's – inability to control the Gaibandha situation.   

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Situation went ‘out of control’

The suspension decision has, justifiably, stunned both political parties and election observers, who noted its unprecedented nature in the recent history of parliamentary elections. But too much focus on the merits of the decision risks taking away from the fact that serious irregularities did occur, in the presence of election and law enforcement officials no less. The EC cited irregularities including illegal presence of individuals in polling booths, voters being forced to vote for a certain candidate, criminals cutting the cables of CCTV cameras, etc. The situation was "out of control", it said. Some candidates also alleged that their agents were forced out of the centres. An independent candidate even said that Awami League men didn't allow him to cast his own vote.

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Is Gaibandha-5 by-poll a prelude to the main show?

So, while it's true that the EC took a drastic decision in its first brush with parliamentary elections, it is also true that it did so in the face of tremendous odds. If this is a sign of things to come, we have every reason to worry about the upcoming national election. Right now, the challenge for the EC is to get the Gaibandha-5 by-poll back on track. But it also has to investigate all reported irregularities and the potential complicity of election officials, and punish those responsible. Otherwise, all this will amount to nothing but a token concession to disgruntled opposition parties.

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‘I must thank the Election Commission’

Until Wednesday, the EC largely appeared to be appeasing the ruling party in election-related decisions. It allowed the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming national election, despite protests from most political parties. It refused to punish high-profile violators of electoral codes. It failed to send a strong message to field-level administrators – deputy commissioners (DCs) and superintendents of police (SPs) – after their grievous misconduct in a recent conference. As well as setting examples of neutrality and transparency in all its actions and preventing any collusion among election officials and the ruling party, the EC also has to figure out a way to secure unconditional support from the administration.

This is a tall order indeed, and we remain unconvinced that the EC can navigate all these challenges and hold fair elections on its own. This is why the support of all stakeholders, especially the ruling party and the administration, is vital. The public has grown tired of watching violent and non-participatory elections year after year. The authorities must find a way to avoid that in the future.