NEWS media reported that ignoring warnings from the Election Commission (EC), mayoral candidates of Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barishal City Corporations continued to violate the electoral Code of Conducts. The mayoral hopefuls and councillor aspirants have lodged 139 complaints about electoral code violations since the campaign started while the EC has so far served around a dozen show cause notices on the mayoral candidates. During the electioneering, all the candidates went from door to door and held street rallies trying to woo voters with their electoral pledges.
A huge number of supporters of the candidates from the ruling Awami League joined the campaign trail while the presence of the BNP supporters was thin apparently due to fear of arrest and intimidation by law enforcers. Although the High Court has directed the law enforcers not to harass or arrest supporters and campaigners of any mayoral candidate until the elections were over, BNP candidates alleged that their party men were arrested. If the people’s confidence upon the EC could not be restored in this city polls, then how come the EC would able to make upcoming general elections fair and participatory? The EC has all legal and institutional power to hold a fair election but needs the courage to make it functional.
In Rajshahi, thousands of posters and banners of mayor candidates hung across the city and many of those were larger than the advised size. There have been similar cases of breaching electoral rules in Sylhet. Almost all the candidates were seen violating the rules during the end of the electioneering. In Barishal, the violation of electoral codes from both ruling and opposition supported mayoral candidates are high but the EC is reluctant enough to discharge their responsibility of ensuring free and fair elections.
In the mayoral elections the Chief Election Commissioner found he was in no position to exercise control over the police despite the fact that they were supposed to under his control. But his job is most important to him, not the national duty of ensuring free election.
