Editorial
CEC's reflections on elections
Creating public enthusiasm for polls is important
Chief Election Commissioner A.T.M. Shamsul Huda has stated that the sooner the voter list is prepared and general elections are held the sooner the emergency will be lifted in the country. His views are those that the nation by and large shares. Indeed, the CEC's statement comes after a flurry of positive signals we have been getting from the government. A few days ago, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, during his visit to New York, reiterated at nearly every stage of it his government's determination to hold the polls on schedule. There have even been hints that if the voter list is ready, elections might be held earlier than scheduled. An additional sign of how election fever might be taking hold of the country comes through the CEC's view that local bodies' polls will be held from January next year. Of course, the CEC expects that for that to happen, the emergency will need to be relaxed by the end of December.
So what are the ground realities today? By the Election Commission's estimates, 10 per cent work on the voter list has already been completed. We would like to think that it is a positive sign of things to be, that the remaining 90 per cent of the work on the electoral role will be completed in time for the elections. What is important here is that matters have reached a stage where extra caution is necessary in handling election-related issues. Of late, there has been a perceptible rise in public confidence about the EC's ability to do the job it has taken upon itself. This confidence can be maintained by making sure that all the technological aspects of the EC's work, such as producing ID cards for voters, are rigorously emphasised. And yet it is also true that the voter list is merely one aspect of the election plan. Of much more significance is the need to ensure a high degree of public enthusiasm and participation in the electoral process. One hardly needs any retelling that the credibility of an election ultimately depends on robust debate. Such an environment is what the EC will need to create apart from placing all the pieces of the electoral board together.
All said and done, though, the truth remains that the enthusiasm and excitement necessary for a meaningful election are somewhat impeded by the state of emergency now in force. But that ought not to be the case. As the CEC has suggested, a relaxation of the emergency before the local polls will help the process along. Much a similar atmosphere is called for where parliamentary elections are concerned. In the end, it is the local bodies' polls that will set the tone for a return to full-fledged democracy.
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