CEC's apology
The EC must not lose neutrality
THE Chief Election Commissioner has admitted that the Election Commission's handling of the two factions of BNP on the issue of inviting the party to an electoral dialogue was flawed and regrettable, and it is the EC which has to bear the brunt of the criticism levelled against the decision to invite the BNP faction led by Major (retd) Hafiz in November last year.
What we find a welcome departure from our culture of never apologising for anything going wrong is the CEC's readiness to shoulder the responsibility of the EC's controversial or poor decision through offering an apology. It is something new that all the stakeholders in politics should not only acknowledge, but also appreciate.
The way the EC invited the faction led by Major (retd) Hafiz created a lot of discontentment in the other faction led by Mr. Delwar Hossain. Obviously, both the factions should have been invited to the dialogue, if only because it would have been a clear indication of the EC's neutrality and clarity of purpose. We at this newspaper questioned the rationale behind the decision to leave a faction out, while allowing the other to represent a major party. In fact, the EC's decision could be construed as reflecting its subservience to the government. That's of course neither desirable, nor acceptable. But unfortunately the EC failed to gauge the likely implications of its decision and, more importantly, how it would be viewed by neutral observers.
The overhauled EC that emerged following the 1/11 changeover was seen as an institution capable of bringing back discipline to the chaotic electoral process which was weakened and almost deformed by political manipulations in the past. And the prime virtue that it had to possess and demonstrate was neutrality in dealing with the political parties. But the allusion to the "Doctrine of necessity" in this case was superfluous and undermined the principle of neutrality and transparency.
The lesson to be learned from the EC's abortive attempt to ignore a big faction of a major political party is that the EC, as the organisation responsible for holding a free and fair election, has to restrict itself to the task assigned to it. Taking any action or any position that might be construed as partisan must be avoided in order maintain the principles that the EC seeks to uphold. Ideally speaking, nobody should lose confidence in the EC -- an institution that should always remain above party politics.
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