A controversial voters' list

Our Election Commission has now undertaken such a practice. The net result has been controversy, disbelief and loss in credibility.

It need to not have been done, but then, wisdom and sanity have drowned in the Buriganga. This is at least true for this government institution. Such a course of action might have also been followed because of the absence of requisite political will.

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I really cannot understand how those responsible for preparing this serious task should have treated the matter so lightly and superficially. The whole process smacks of irresponsibility. I have not been able to find any suitable explanation for this.

Citizens in general, and civil society in particular, have watched with great anxiety and dismay the steady deterioration in the political arena. Polarisation in politics is being further intensified instead of the spirit of compromise. We have seen exchange of letters and press conferences. We have seen the Opposition adapt itself to changing circumstances. We have also seen inflexibility amongst those who are policy makers within the government.

It is against this scenario, that the Election Commission has again created further debate. It is clear that the hierarchy within that institution strongly believes that no one can question or dispute their policies. They have been following a path that has already been challenged in the superior courts in the land. The Appellate Division of the High Court after deferring hearing seven times, has scheduled the next hearing on the preparation of the voters list on 14 May. Nevertheless, this latest action on the part of the Election Commission indicates their total disregard for the directives of any judicial authority.

Normal legal norms, which would otherwise apply for other institutions, are not being taken notice of. In a manner of speaking, the courts as well as everyone else is being reminded that they do not court. The Commission, by completing the enumeration of a fresh voters list, appears to have overlooked the January 4 directives of the High Court. The Election Commission Secretariat has claimed that it has not ignored the court's directive. I, like many others, have however failed to comprehend their logic.

The media -- both print as well as electronic -- have tried to understand the draft voters list which was published by the Election Commission, a few days ago on the 3rd of May. I am constrained to observe that the whole process has been inconsistent.

This draft voter list has enlisted a total of 91.3 million voters, almost 65 per cent of the total current population of Bangladesh. The new list has also shown an increase of nearly 22 per cent over the existing voters list prepared in 2000. The ratio of voters to population in this fresh list is considerably higher than any other list put together since 1972. In fact, according to details available from earlier Election Commission documents, this ratio has generally hovered between 50.48 per cent and 51.52 per cent, except in the case of 1990 when it has about 60.29 per cent.

The comments coming out of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, particularly from those associated with carrying out the demographic census have only reinforced views that there have been gross irregularities in the preparation of this voters list.

Several newspapers have published detailed demographic statistics to underline the inconsistencies that already exist within this list. After permutations and combinations, it has been suggested that according to the census report the number of voters in this list should not have been more than 80.2 million (with zero deaths and no left-outs).

The situation has been further aggravated by reports that substantial numbers of people in both urban and rural areas have been left out of this voters' list. The names of Awami League Members of Parliament -- Mr Asaduzzaman Noor from Nilphamari and Mr Ekabbar Hossain from Mirzapur -- have not been included in this list. Journalists from several parts of the country have reported that many district election officers have failed to complete the draft lists for want of funds and personnel constraint. In some cases they did not have resources for copying the requisite forms. They have remarked that they need more time.

So, on the one hand, we have millions of ghosts roaming the corridors of the Election Commission. On the other hand, we have millions of ghosts roaming the corridors of the Election Commission. On the other hand, we have substantial numbers being denied the chance to exercise their rights as citizens.

We have to understand that if any election is to be considered as fair, then it requires a comprehensive voters list. If this is absent, it will not reflect the will of the people.

Next come the other stipulations of the Election Commission. They have decreed that the deadline for filing objections and requesting corrections is 21 May and that such objections will have to be disposed of by 6 June. The final date for incorporation and deletion has been set for 24 June. Who are we trying to fool? Such tight time schedules will only add to the existing confusion.

According to rules, the list of voters has to be available in the offices of the Registration Officers and also in public places like the Union Parishad, Municipalities and City Corporations, Offices of Ward Commissioners and also in the educational institutions, which are likely to be designated as polling centres. This has however not happened in many administrative districts. So, how are the citizens going to ascertain the veracity of the list for their respective area? If they cannot do so, how will they seek rectification, and that too, within such a short time?

All the parties in the Opposition, quite understandably, have rejected this draft list of voters. This is now being seen as another step in the elaborate arrangements being put in place by the current Administration towards 'election engineering'.

We have seen how he Caretaker process has been brought into dispute through arbitrary decisions and active intervention within the judicial process. We have watched how the Election Commission has gradually lost its neutrality and independence. We have observed politicisation besmirching the dynamics of governance.

These are unfortunate measures and not conducive towards constructive engagement.

The Administration has to understand that double-speak will not calm troubled waters. The government today is vulnerably despite the spin put across through articles in the foreign press. What has happened in the recent past in Kansat and nearer to Dhaka in Shanir Akhra has underlined the deep frustration that exists within the general population over the absence of water, gas, electricity, diesel and fertilizer. Demonstrations have evolved their own spontaneity. People are now beginning to risk their lives for basic utilities that under normal circumstances are taken for granted.

This is breeding instability and will definitely discourage investment. We are sitting on top of a volcano and those in power, in their air-conditioned offices and four-wheel vehicles, appear to be totally unconcerned. In their greed for power, they consider the present to be the best of times. Proverbially, they may be wrong. I am reminded of Charles Dickens in this regard. It could also be the worst of times later on.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador who can be reached at mzamir@dhaka.net