BANGLADESH is back to a participatory election of sorts. Parties of all hue and colour have contested the 11th Parliamentary Election held in 299 constituencies yesterday. Beyond the jacket of all those weighty words, Bangladesh has seen a very different kind of election where the main opposition parties joined fight.
Elections have become mostly festive affairs for Bangladesh when even the person at the lowest rung of the society suddenly feels important as candidates go from house to house, seeking their votes. This year, the number of nomination seekers was highest in the country’s electoral history. The number of finally selected candidates was also higher.
This time, the participatory election was held without Parliament being dissolved; a system that has been developed in the recent years for conducting national elections under a neutral administration. Voting ended peacefully in Dhaka; but was tainted with violence elsewhere across the country and cost the lives of at least 17 people. We fear, the number of causalities may rise in post-polls violence if the law enforcement agencies don’t take stringent measures quickly.
Despite huge precautionary measures, we got reports of casualties from Cumilla, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Gazipur where several hundred people were also injured. From the opposition camps, allegations of vote rigging, intimidation and irregularities came at several other constituencies. Also, the election saw opposition candidates boycotting elections in at least 43 constituencies; 42 of who were Jatiya Oikyafront runners.
So participatory it was–but whether it will be acceptable to all remains to be seen. Though there were some incidents of fatal violence in some constituencies, we think it was not “too high” in comparison to national or local government polls in other countries, including India and Pakistan.
Now, Bangladesh will wait to hear the full official results.
For the betterment of winning party, the allegations of vote rigging at some centres and obstructing polling agents from performing their duties in 221 constituencies will have to be investigated to ensure whether such incidents really took place. If so, the “over-enthusiastic activists” should be punished properly. Any such misconduct would fade the image of the Election Commission as well as the winning party.
