Take early measures to ensure violence-free election

The winds of election have begun to blow. The campus is already heated up over the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election. A few days ago, Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus announced that the 13th National Parliamentary Election would be held in February next year. Since then, political parties have been rushing to make their final preparations. In line with that, on Thursday (28 August), Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed announced the roadmap for the upcoming national election. According to the roadmap, the parliamentary election will be held in the first half of February and the schedule will be announced in the first half of December.

But already, due to the prevailing political unrest in the country, uncertainty and apprehension have arisen regarding the election. Even the Chief Election Commissioner himself, along with other commissioners, has expressed concern about the upcoming national election. According to reports published in the media on 30 August, the CEC said that the forthcoming national election will be the most challenging and risky in the country’s history. He believes new challenges will emerge from remote areas, and messages must be conveyed to all so they can be dealt with properly. There is no scope to go beyond the law. Education or training can never be a substitute for ethics.

At the same event, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahman reminded everyone of the imprisonment and public humiliation of two former CECs with garlands of shoes after three controversial elections, urging utmost caution. Another commissioner, Anwarul Islam Sarkar, said that of all the elections in the country’s history, the 13th parliamentary election will be the riskiest. There is no doubt about it.

But why are the election commissioners viewing the upcoming election as risky? The answer is more or less known to us all. The country is going through a grave period of instability. Political disagreements over the July Charter are intensifying. An informal meeting has been held between BNP and Jamaat to reduce the differences, but no positive outcome has emerged.

According to media reports, Jamaat, Islami Andolan, NCP, Gano Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, AB Party and Khelafat Majlis have already held a meeting. They expressed the view that the election cannot be held without the July Charter. On the other hand, the Election Commission has identified 24 tasks to be completed by November, with a timeline to finish preparations and hold the election before Ramadan, scheduled to start at mid-February. With only two months left until November, doubts remain whether political parties and the Election Commission will be ready in time.

The Commission has started training its core trainers, with 40 senior officials undergoing a two-day programme. Through them, over the next four months, more than one million election officials and staff will be trained.

The time is very limited for training such a large number of people. Meanwhile, political unrest in the country shows no sign of decreasing. After yesterday’s clash in Bijoynagar between leaders and activists of the Jatiya Party and Gano Odhikar Parishad, followed by army-police action that left Gano Odhikar Parishad president Nurul Haque Nur seriously injured, the situation has become even more complicated. Mob violence has taken root in the country, and no one knows what level it might reach during the upcoming election. Many also fear foreign interference in Bangladesh’s politics. All in all, the situation is not only uncertain but highly alarming.

It is the responsibility of the current government to dispel these fears. The Election Commission, too, must create the conditions for a safe and fair election. Everyone must remember: if there is any manipulation in this election, the consequences will be disastrous.