Election Commission
Why Bangladesh still a child even at 54
Election-oriented people believe that once an election is held inflation will fall, GDP will rise, a flood of investment will come, factories will not close, there will be no shortage of gas supply, electricity prices will fall, load-shedding will end, there will be no traffic jams on the roads, and students will not lose concentration due to the sounds of sermons and band music. On the other hand, some believe that even if an election is held none of these will happen; instead, new thieves will appear, robbers in different guises, corruption-hungry officials, bribe-takers in religious attire, and newly styled money launderers. The current ACC Commissioner Miah Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi has recounted at a public hearing how he himself paid bribes; he described the harassment he faced in obtaining approvals or no-objection certificates from numerous institutions for a multi-storey building design, and mentioned how he had to pay one lakh taka in bribes the very day before going on Hajj. Since giving bribes is a crime, no one admits to it, but even honest people have to pay them; proving it is difficult. Even if proof is found, fighting the administration is foolish, because the bribe-takers know the countless sections of law, and which ones are non-bailable. These things do not happen only under dictatorships; they happen under the democratic systems of elected governments too.
What reforms came in 'DUCSU’ and ‘JUCSU' elections
A day after the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election, the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election was also boycotted by the panel backed by BNP’s student wing, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal. At around 3:30 pm on Thursday, an hour and a half before the end of polling, they announced their boycott. Their allegation was that the election was not being conducted properly because of widespread irregularities, vote rigging and administrative bias. The panel’s General Secretary (GS) candidate Tanzila Hossain Baishakhi said, ‘From the very beginning we feared it would be a staged election.’
Why authorities’ bias in DUCSU election
The DUCSU election was not only long-awaited, but alongside people’s expectations, their aspirations were immense. For so long the election had been turned into a farce, and every year fees were taken from educational institutions but there was no elected student union. After many years, the DUCSU election was held in 2019, while in some institutions elections were held once in the 1970s and never again. From such a state we hoped to move towards a truly democratic environment of education and also a democratic environment in politics. Everyone wanted a fair election.
DUCSU Election: Hopes, obstacles, possibilities on path of democracy
If democracy is to be properly evaluated, its practice should begin in educational institutions. Especially at Dhaka University, which is called the centre of the country’s political history, the free election of student organisations is the first laboratory of democratic practice. Many had thought that this year’s DUCSU election could be a new beginning. But the reality shows that obstacles have arisen here too.
Some reforms possible without consensus
The Judiciary Reform Commission has recommended that the judiciary have a separate secretariat and financial autonomy, which would reduce its dependence on the executive branch of the government.
Is distance between govt and BNP centring election only
BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, and Mirza Abbas have recently made some comments that make it seem as though BNP is the main opposition party to the interim government. Although BNP also played a major role in the process of forming the interim government led by Dr Yunus after the fall of the Awami League in the face of an uprising in August last. From the beginning, BNP has been saying that the interim government is their government; but, just a few months after this government assumed office on August 8 of last year, a distance or tension began to emerge between the government and BNP. This raises the question: is this distance between the government and BNP only about the election issue, or are there any more reasons behind it?
Law Adviser clarifies his remarks on election timing
Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul on Saturday said the election timing will be fixed under the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus as it is a very important policy decision.
Casino scam: Salim Pradhan can't contest UP polls, says SC
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) has passed an order barring Salim Pradhan, much discussed in the casino scandal, from participating in the Rupganj Upazila Parishad elections in.
Trust deficit in the local governance
The first phase of the Upazila Election held recently once again reflected the basic weakness of our local government system. Despite having all the built-in distortion in the overall governance system, we do have a local government structure which remains hobbled by a plethora of challenges. Over-centralisation, inadequate financial resources, weak institutional capacities and limited citizen participation, have plagued this tier of government for a long time.