The Election Commission (EC) deserves a strong pat on the back for investigating and making public the findings of its probe into the Gaibandha-5 by-polls. For the first time in many years, the EC has taken a firm position on election irregularities, which is heartening to see. Election commissions in the recent past had utterly failed to perform their duty to the nation, and as a result, they had all but destroyed the institution's credibility. The general public clearly wants a reversal of that, and this is a good start in that direction. 

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'Fair' statements cannot change the reality of Gaibandha by-poll

The EC has recommended punishment for 134 officials involved in the Gaibandha-5 by-polls after its probe found their involvement in irregularities and negligence in performing duties. Although the number is high, they are mostly low-level officials, except for the returning officer. We are happy that the people who conducted a "well-orchestrated" effort to deny voters of their voting rights have been exposed, because it's high time for such efforts to be brought to light, and those participating in them being held accountable. However, it's strange to see that individuals who are in the higher echelons of government and law enforcement agencies – who failed to identify the plot to manipulate elections – are missing from the list of those the EC has identified so far. 

As the Election Commission itself noted, the number and types of irregularities are concerning. Voters in many cases were, in fact, forced by polling agents to cast votes for a specific symbol. The commission in its review said similar irregularities took place in almost all the polling centres and that they were done in a well-planned manner. This implies that the settings were far from right to allow a free and fair election to be held. Incidentally, the EC also lamented that it had become clear "from this incident that irregularities in elections have become a usual matter." 

Although people have made that allegation for a while now, the unfortunate lack of courage displayed by previous commissions and the absence of concrete measures have made holding free and fair elections and upholding people's voting franchise all the more difficult. In regard to ensuring them, the EC still has a long way to go. However, in light of its recent actions, we would like to extend our full support.

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

In the coming days, the EC must come up with a realistic strategy as to how it will monitor, tackle and address such irregularities if they happen in the majority of polling stations in the country. For example, one of the key takeaways from this by-poll is that every polling centre should be equipped with enough CCTVs. However, will there be enough manpower to ensure they are being monitored in real time? Will the EC have the courage in the end to take bold steps during the national elections, as they did during the Gaibandha by-polls? The EC has gotten off to a good start, but the challenge now is to stay the course.