CCC polls an eye-opener

Although it was a civic body election, it assumed the political dimension of a national event with the ruling alliance mobilising its high profile ministers and MPs and the opposition under the banner of Nagorik Committee gathering almost all leading opposition stalwarts for the election campaign. But at the end it appeared that the voters had already made up their minds. It was a clear manifestation of triumph of people power. It was also people power that perhaps thwarted what many suspected could turn out to be a last minute " vote fraud campaign" to alter the results.

It was a race neither party could afford to lose. So much was at stake for both of the contending parties at a time when the general election is not too far off. The win or loss meant so much to the parties that they would like to read into the outcome not only the will of the citizens of the port city, but also of the electorate of the entire country. Many would conclude that the majority who voted against Mir Nasir in fact voted not only against him, but also against the ruling alliance. The election result is a sign that the government should read carefully and correct their faults.

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On the other hand, parties now looking for a united stand to see the ruling alliance off in the next parliamentary election have a great lesson to learn from the election. It is this that they will have to be on guard to make sure that the voters' will gets reflected in the result. The mayoral election had a concentration of workers and leaders. So focused was it that any wrongdoing could be brought to the notice of the authorities. In national election this will be nearly impossible because it will never be possible to deploy truckloads of law enforcers to all 300 constituencies countrywide. But if they want the popular will to be reflected, they will have to ensure similar vigilance.

The election was a test for the Election Commission (EC) also, having seen its image dented after the much talked about Dhaka-10 by-election. During the campaign there was wide allegation of money power playing its part, distribution of saris, lungis, and cash among slum dwellers. It was also alleged that at times the tone of campaigning by government leaders amounted to intimidation. With the day of election approaching nearer, the air was ripe with rumours that one party or other would rig the election as the neutrality of the administration was in doubt. The suspense reached its zenith on the evening of the election day when vote counting was abruptly suspended for unknown reasons for quite some time. But an uncompromising EC finally succeeded in presenting a reasonably free, fair, and violence-free election to re-establish its independent image.

However all was not quiet on the election front, as the helplessness of the EC was exposed through this poll. Various controversies and irregularities in the appointment of polling officers and the role of EC secretariat and police have once again emphasised the demands for reforms to the EC to make it stronger and let it have an independent secretariat with adequate manpower and logistics so that the EC can appoint its own officials as returning officers. There is a lesson for the EC from CCC polls. If holding a city corporation election requires 20,000 security personnel, then how to manage the national polls when all the 300 constituencies go to vote simultaneously?

By whatever yardstick one judges the outcome of the CCC mayoral election, the defeat is a lesson for the BNP and four-party alliance. The debacle was obvious as the voters were aggrieved on several fronts, including continuous price spiral of essential commodities, widespread corruption, abduction of businessman like Jamaluddin, and open secret extortion in the commercial capital. Other reasons included excessive dependence on a particular alliance partner and projection of Mir Nasir as a member of the Zia family by Tareque Rahman, who seems to be the worst loser in this election as it was his first election campaign in favour of a party nominee and to which he attached much importance.

In the end, the debacle of the ruling alliance candidate in the CCC polls will give confidence to the opposition parties now agitating for reforms in the caretaker government system and EC. Now the Awami League and its allies in the movement for reforms will prepare to step up the combined movement, cashing in on the poll results, as the results will surely infuse some new life into the opposition camp. In fact, this was the first serious contest after the 2001 general election that had thrown the opposition to the sidelines of national politics. The CCC polls have also proved that the four-party alliance can be defeated by unity among the progressive and non-communal forces. So the opposition seems to be doing everything to continue this spirit until the next parliamentary elections.

Which is why, on the other hand, the ruling alliance, particularly BNP, appears to be looking for new allies, as the CCC poll has exposed the vulnerability of the alliance compared to the combined strength of the opposition. As a result, in coming days the nation may witness desperate game of alignment and realignment in both camps, centring on choosing reliable and effective partners to contest the next parliamentary elections. In this game, the role of main actor will be played by different splinter groups of the Jatiya Party and some Islamic parties and groups not related to the four-party alliance. In the new polarisation, the possibility of an emerging third force comprising some right-wing parties with heavy-weight leaders cannot be ruled out altogether.

Saiful Alam is a businessman.