EC decisions appear worryingly prejudiced

EDITORIAL

FOR the upcoming national election, 3,056 aspirants of different political parties submitted their nomination papers to the Election Commission. Upon scrutiny, returning officers have cancelled nominations of 786 candidates on varying grounds including defaulted bank loans, unpaid utility bills, forged signatures of voters, absence of valid documents authenticating party affiliation and lack of proof of resignation from the offices of local government. The process to scrutinise nomination papers is crucial to electoral process as it reviews the eligibility of aspirants and screens out applicants who fails to meet the criterions laid out in the Representation of the People Order Bill. Therefore, it was expected of the commission that it will conduct the review in an unbiased manner and without inciting further controversy. The rejection of the nomination papers of 30 dissidents of ruling alliance willing to contest the polls as independent candidates in 27 districts however says otherwise. The cancellation of at least 43 nomination papers of the main opposition, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders appears to be a blessing for Awami League led alliance. Therefore, it will not be mistaken to suggest that these decisions were made considering the interest of the ruling coalition.

According to media reports, the rebel candidates of the ruling alliance and candidates of political opposition with higher possibility of winning in the election are particularly subjected to the refusal. In six constituencies, nomination papers of all aspirants of BNP were cancelled by the returning officers. In Manikganj 2, the nomination papers of all BNP candidates were rejected on ground that the signature of the secretary general of the party is not authentic, even though party has publicly confirmed their nominations. A Gano Forum candidate of Hanbiganj 1 with previous history with AL is also faced with rejection as he is unjustly categorised by the commission as loan defaulter. Such irregularities were also exposed in during the nomination submission phase as well. On the last day of nomination submission, returning officers refused to accept application of an opposition party leader seeking nomination for Rangpur 5 constituencies without providing any valid reason. The aspirant in question has to seek redress from the High Court just to get his nomination paper accepted. In what follows, the complaint that the commission was unequal and prejudiced towards the political party in power and its prejudice has influenced the review process seems justifiable.

The Election Commission, as it appears, has created a situation in which dissident candidates of ruling alliance and opposition candidates with higher chances of winning are eliminated at the stage of scrutiny, thereby impeding the possibility of an inclusive election. In other words, the commission is implicitly lending support, as alleged by many, to the ruling quarters ploy to win the election before the actual vote. Another unilateral election undoubtedly will deepen the prevailing political crisis, the ruling quarter has to historically shoulder the burden of this crisis unless they act differently and allow the Election Commission to act independently.

• Courtesy: The New Age/ Dec 04, 2018