According to the schedule of the 12th parliamentary election, yesterday was the last date for filing nomination papers for the candidates. There was talk in the political arena that the rescheduling or extension of the nomination period, but last evening the EC confirmed that the 'rescheduling' was not taking place. As such, only those who have submitted nomination forms by November 30 in the 12th election can contest.
Meanwhile, a section of civil society representatives do not want to call this election competitive without expecting the main parties on the streets, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. Besides, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said the election was not participatory. Therefore, independent candidates are getting the most importance in increasing voter turnout in this election without strong opposition. This has already been made clear in the Awami League (AL) president's speech. The field level administration and law enforcement agencies have received a message to create an environment for all the candidates to campaign fearlessly.
Analysts said the main topic of discussion now is whether the candidates will be able to bring opposition supporters and ordinary voters to the center in the election. Because in the 2014 election, AL candidates could not bring their own party's voters to the center. As a result, there is a lot of criticism about the election at home and abroad due to low voter turnout. So this time independent candidates will get the most importance. The AL wants to respond to criticism by holding peaceful elections as most of the independent candidates are AL candidates. So, like in 2014, there is no atmosphere to become an MP only if you get a party ticket. There was also no chance of being elected unopposed by applying pressure and seating independent candidates. Because the AL was elected unopposed in 154 seats in the 2014 election, that election was questioned. So this time the party chief has announced that action will be taken against anyone who is elected unopposed. All in all, it's going to be a fairly competitive election, even if it's between ourselves.
Meanwhile, AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader made a surprise announcement about the participation of opposition parties in this election. But in the end, there were no surprises without the participation of the Jatiya Party. Although many heavyweight leaders of BNP are rumored to come to the polls, the party has been able to retain its leaders. No one important took part in the election as the unity of the party was maintained in the face of various pressures and dangers. On the contrary, more than 250 expelled leaders have appealed to return to the party.
Jamaat-e-Islami, a major political party, is also not participating in the elections. The party is agitating with BNP for unilateral cancellation of the election. Among the BNP's allies, the Kalyan Party announced its participation in the election. In the end, along with the parties in the movement with BNP, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, which is fairly strong in field politics and known as an ally of AL, did not participate in the election. As a result, some analysts are calling the election scheduled for January 7 as one-sided. They believed that a participatory election should be held through dialogue to ensure a stable environment in the country and to get rid of international pressure. Otherwise, the country will suffer due to the movement of opposition parties and foreign pressure and sanctions.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) and an election expert, believed that the election cannot be called a competitive election if there are no qualified candidates. While taking, the analyst said to The Daily Post that it was the responsibility of the government to create an environment to bring influential and popular political parties to the polls, but that environment was not created, so there was no question less election. He believed that it is still possible to restore the atmosphere of fair elections through dialogue.
Meanwhile, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) believed that the election will not be participatory this time. There are also questions about party nominations. The TIB has opined that politics is being affected by taking away party nominations through money and muscle power instead of giving priority to politicians. The views were expressed at a press conference held at TIB's Dhanmondi office in the capital yesterday. The press conference was organized to highlight the political commitment to practice democracy, good governance and integrity: recommendations of TIB. TIB researcher Kawsar Ahmed presented the recommendations. It made 76 recommendations on nine subjects.
Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of the organization, said, "What is meant by truly participatory elections is not happening this time which is concerning. In that case, there will be an election; who will be in power will also be decided. But people's right to vote will not be established. It will also be impossible to ensure the trust of the people."
He added that loyalty to the party should be given priority in the nomination of the party. Someone came along quickly, nominated because of money, muscle power, or other identity. In this, those who are the bearers of true mainstream politics tend to think of themselves as extinct. Teams need to change that.
Meanwhile, there was no agreement with the AL’s allies. Therefore, the parties are yet to decide what their position will be in the seat-sharing arrangement. Independent candidates will be the main force if the parties of the 14-party alliance also boycott the election and withdraw their nominations without getting the required number of seats. The dramatic situation will come to an end on the last day of withdrawal of nominations. However, when asked about the number of parties contesting the election considering the filing of nomination papers, Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam said, "If the upazila nirbahi officers send information from all over the country, it can be confirmed how many parties have participated in the election."
However, at a press conference held at the Media Center of the Election Building yesterday afternoon, the EC secretary said that the rescheduling of the 12th parliamentary election is not being held. The time for filing nomination papers is not being extended. The time ended at 4 pm on Thursday (November 30). The Election Commission feels that there is no scope to extend this deadline.
Meanwhile, Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the commerce ministry, has warned about foreign pressure and sanctions on the election issue. "There is no situation in Bangladesh to impose a trade ban. We have nothing to fear. We don't get a chance from the United States. As a result, the new U.S. labor policy is nothing to worry about. Bangladesh's election has nothing to do with the country's concerns about workers' rights. We also want to maintain international labour organization (ILO) standards. Only 17 percent of our total exports are to the United States. And in Europe, we do 55 to 60 percent. We send clothes to America with substantial tariffs."
US Secretary of State Antony J Biegun announced the presidential memorandum on November 16. He said measures such as sanctions, trade fines and visa bans would be taken against those who attack union leaders, workers' rights defenders and trade unions. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington has written a letter to the Commerce Ministry expressing concern over the new US policy on labour standards and workers' rights. According to the letter, the issue of protecting the labour environment and workers' rights is related to Bangladesh. Therefore, we need to focus on this issue rather than neglecting it. However, the policy is universal. However, there are fears of targeting Bangladesh.
On the other hand, US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter Haas held another meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen yesterday after returning home after completing his vacation amid various speculations. They held an hour-long meeting at the State Guest House Padma. Bangladesh Ambassador to Washington Mohammad Imran and Director General of North America Division Khandaker Masud Ul Alam were present at the meeting. There is no official word on the meeting yet. However, it is believed that bilateral issues of the two countries, including the ongoing politics of Bangladesh, labour policy, economy, are likely to be discussed in the hour-long meeting. Peter Haas's recent comments on Bangladesh elections have given him a lot of importance in bangladesh politics. There are rumours in political circles of strong action against the government for rejecting the US offer of political dialogue.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission on November 15, the 12th parliamentary election will be held on January 7. The deadline for filing nomination papers ended on November 30. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on December 1 to 4 and the last date for withdrawal is December 17.
ARS.
