Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The ruling Awami League is gearing up its campaign ahead of the December 30 election amid discomfort in the opposition camp for arrests and alleged intimidation of its candidates and leaders across the country.
BNP candidate for Jashore-4 Constituency Abu Saeed Mohammad Shahdat Hossain was arrested on Friday in connection with a case filed allegedly for creating anarchy in October, while the party’s candidate for Patuakhali-3 Golam Maula Rony and five others have been sued in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
The opposition BNP has accused the ruling party of using the administration to rob the “level playing field” by citing the instances of arrests and detentions of their leaders and police harassment.
The Awami League currently holds the majority in Parliament, with an overwhelming 275 seats, many of them won uncontested in the 2014 election, which was characterised by low turnouts and political violence.
BNP boycotted the election in protest against the absence of a caretaker government.
“The ruling party is campaigning in full swing, contrarily the opposition parties are busy hide them to avoid arrest and attacks. Such a situation has sent the ruling party in comfort zone, but pushed the opposition in tight corner,” said Dr Tofail Ahmed, a local governance expert.
BNP claims that 152 out of 300 opposition candidates have been attacked while campaigning and more than 8,700 activists, including 15 candidates, have been detained in the past month.
When asked, Dr Tofail Ahmed said, the Election Commission still could not create a level playing field and even, a division appears to have surfaced within the Commission (EC) itself on the issue. “EC should take effective steps to ensure proper election atmosphere.”
“A ‘one-sided’ election campaign is going on across the country dominated by the ruling party in absence of opposition candidates and campaigners. Continued attack and harassment by their opponents and law-enforcers have created an uneven election atmosphere for them,” Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director
of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) told The New Nation.
He also said most ruling party candidates are contesting the election either as a minister or as a MP and thus overwhelmed the BNP candidates.
“It’s can be termed as a basic weakness regarding ensuring a level playing field. The Election Commission still can improve the situation if it only exert its constitutional power and establish its control on the public administration and security agencies,” he added.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch urged the international community to press the Bangladesh government to create conditions for a free and fair election.
The US-based global rights group criticized Bangladeshi security forces for “arresting and intimidating opposition figures and threatening freedom of expression ahead of the election.”
The ruling Awami League is gearing up its campaign ahead of the December 30 election amid discomfort in the opposition camp for arrests and alleged intimidation of its candidates and leaders across the country.
BNP candidate for Jashore-4 Constituency Abu Saeed Mohammad Shahdat Hossain was arrested on Friday in connection with a case filed allegedly for creating anarchy in October, while the party’s candidate for Patuakhali-3 Golam Maula Rony and five others have been sued in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
The opposition BNP has accused the ruling party of using the administration to rob the “level playing field” by citing the instances of arrests and detentions of their leaders and police harassment.
The Awami League currently holds the majority in Parliament, with an overwhelming 275 seats, many of them won uncontested in the 2014 election, which was characterised by low turnouts and political violence.
BNP boycotted the election in protest against the absence of a caretaker government.
“The ruling party is campaigning in full swing, contrarily the opposition parties are busy hide them to avoid arrest and attacks. Such a situation has sent the ruling party in comfort zone, but pushed the opposition in tight corner,” said Dr Tofail Ahmed, a local governance expert.
BNP claims that 152 out of 300 opposition candidates have been attacked while campaigning and more than 8,700 activists, including 15 candidates, have been detained in the past month.
When asked, Dr Tofail Ahmed said, the Election Commission still could not create a level playing field and even, a division appears to have surfaced within the Commission (EC) itself on the issue. “EC should take effective steps to ensure proper election atmosphere.”
“A ‘one-sided’ election campaign is going on across the country dominated by the ruling party in absence of opposition candidates and campaigners. Continued attack and harassment by their opponents and law-enforcers have created an uneven election atmosphere for them,” Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director
of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) told The New Nation.
He also said most ruling party candidates are contesting the election either as a minister or as a MP and thus overwhelmed the BNP candidates.
“It’s can be termed as a basic weakness regarding ensuring a level playing field. The Election Commission still can improve the situation if it only exert its constitutional power and establish its control on the public administration and security agencies,” he added.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch urged the international community to press the Bangladesh government to create conditions for a free and fair election.
The US-based global rights group criticized Bangladeshi security forces for “arresting and intimidating opposition figures and threatening freedom of expression ahead of the election.”
