Hardly anyone – except, of course, the ruling party and its allies – would disagree with the Election Commission's comment on Thursday that the expected environment is yet to be created for holding a free, fair, participatory, and festive parliamentary election. We can also all safely agree with the EC that the answer to the current political stalemate lies in a constructive dialogue, not power play on the streets, which, in all likelihood, will get more aggressive in the days to come. What we do object to is the EC's claim that "it is a political matter" and that the "EC has nothing to do in this regard."

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How to judge the Election Commission’s performance

The EC has categorically refused to accept the responsibility of facilitating dialogues between the two major political parties in the country, shifting the blame to the parties themselves as well as the civil society for not playing their due roles in resolving the stalemate. While the Awami League and the BNP certainly deserve their share of the blame for their stubborn refusal to compromise on their positions, the question remains as to what the EC itself has done to restore trust in its ability to do its job. Thus far, it has failed to ensure a level playing field for the opposition parties; it has neither addressed the widespread violence by ruling party men, at times with the support of law enforcement, in various parts of the country, nor has it spoken about the thousands of new and old cases that are now being filed or expedited against BNP activists. When asked about a level playing field, the CEC commented that they would try to ensure it once the schedule was declared. The fact that the EC is still insisting on a very narrow definition of the pre-election period – the time between the election schedule's announcement and the polling day – is highly problematic.

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‘Ensuring a fair election may be challenging without participation of major political parties’

From halving the number of local election monitoring observers from 2018, to giving red carpet reception to a new poll monitoring group with questionable credentials, to selecting seven organisations for poll monitoring which don't even exist (as per an investigation by Prothom Alo), the EC has made one questionable decision after another. Given that the BNP's main objection to participating in the election is their staunch belief that the current EC cannot ensure a neutral environment in which polling can take place, the least the commission can do is allay those concerns and show that it is not impartial.

The EC must not sell itself short by deeming itself helpless to create an environment conducive to free and fair elections. It can and must do more to create a level playing field for all political parties, and actively facilitate discussions between the two major parties for an acceptable solution to the current impasse.

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