Editorial
Please, Strengthen EC
IF the question is whether the Election Commission has failed to ensure peaceful, free and fair voting at the recently-held by-elections and the Chittagong City Corporations polls, the answer would definitely be yes. Regardless of what the government wants to have us believe, these polls were marred by bloody violence and wide-spread allegations of manipulations, in some cases purportedly engineered by bureaucrats and politicians alike. Besides, the opposition boycott did put their credibility and acceptability on the line. However, if the question is whether the commission has been biased and partial in the conduct of the elections, the answer would have to be in the negative regardless of what the opposition parties would like to have us believe. Besides, despite sustained hue and cry over the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation, the opposition has so far not been able to produce any substantive evidence in this regard, either. It is nonetheless beyond doubt that the EC has not been able to live up to either its responsibilities or to the popular expectations as regards conducting the electoral process. The failure, however, has more to do with personnel and logistic inadequacy rather than lack of commitment and sincerity.
Unfortunately, the government has so far been largely apathetic in this behalf. That the present regime is yet to approve EC proposals for upgrading district election officers (DEOs) and thereby paving the path for appointment of thana election officers (TEOs) bears a strong testimony to that. The government's indifference and thereby inertia can have disquieting implications. It could be ascribed to an immature perception, on its part, of democracy at best and deliberate ploy to gain political advantage of a feeble EC at worst. Besides, many feel that the bureaucrats have knowingly prolonged the process, for strengthened EC might encroach upon their 'dominion' at the field level.
In the short term, an inadequate EC may, in a crooked way, serve whoever is in power; but in the long run, such an arrangement is bound to frustrate the electorate, and eventually make them apathetic to the electoral process itself. Elections, and thereby governance, would be detached from people, essentially meaning death to democracy.
Primarily, therefore, our plea to the government is for an immediate action to strengthen the EC by okaying the proposed recruitment proposal. In this regard, we cannot help advise the opposition to rally around this issue instead of demanding the CEC's scalp.
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