Bangladesh achie-ved independence 46 years ago. For a newly born independent country, 46 years is quite enough time for institutionalizing its democratic institutions. It is our great regret that we have failed to a large extent in doing so. This is mainly because undemocratic governments have ruled the country for a long time, and there is a lack of tolerance and consensus among political parties.
Election in Bangladesh is based on 'First past the post' principle. That's why candidates desperately use money, muscle power, kinship and whatever they have in their stock to get votes more than their contenders. In many cases, more votes are cast against the winning candidate. That means the elected candidate represents the minority. It infringes upon the very concept of democracy. To come out of this situation it needs to reform the election system. This is more important than the ongoing debate for and against caretaker government.
The current electoral system should deliver meaningful result otherwise following rituals of voting will not bring any positive change. We should adopt a proportional system of representation. In the system, the party gets priority over the person. People can compare one manifesto of a contending party to the other given by other parties. Parties can also be sincere in making their pledges fulfilled. In the present system of election, an anachronistic system of loyalty to a person is followed, which is denial of plural space. Democracy has thus degraded into electing an absolute leader in the country.
Another important point is increasing the number of seats in parliament. In 1973, there were 300 seats for 7.5 crore people. Over the years the population has doubled but the number of seats remains the same. In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the number of seats increases in proportion to the number of voters. We should also think of the same. We should also ensure participation of non-resident Bangladeshis in election.
They are our significant source of foreign currency. They also represent our country abroad. In Mozambique too, for an example, there are two seats reserved for non residents. We should rethink over the constitutional impediment on electing dual citizens. If a person can hold responsible position abroad, why would he not be allowed to represent in his own country? In our country, many candidates have dual citizenship but they have to hide the information.
Our election should be vibrant, relevant and responsive. Civil society and academicians should be included in election commission. In our country, it has become a tradition that only people from civil service, military and judiciary get appointment in election commission. It narrows the scope of a credible election commission. We actually have to create a space for plurality of thoughts. People have to be encouraged to ask questions about their rights.
The conduct a free and fair election is at the heart of the democratic process. But what are the characteristics of a credible election? Although there is no standard definition available so far, there are some aspects whatsoever. The first and foremost feature is that it must have the reflection of the will of the people. Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of a government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
The second important criterion is that it must be participated by all qualified political parties. The third fundamental ingredient is that the electoral process must be trusted by the citizens. Ensuring fair competition among the political parties and candidates is the attribute of a credible election. Another characteristic is the acceptable voter turnout.
Free and fair elections are not generally considered possible without the means of verifying legitimate voters. Hence, electoral registers are therefore essential in any voting system. The fundamental purpose of a voter-registration system is to restrict access to the voting booth to ensure so that only those who are entitled to vote in a given jurisdiction can do so, but they each should vote only once.
There are a set of internationally accepted guiding principles to prepare and update the electoral roll. Integrity is the most important guideline which means the registration process should be fair, honest, and strive to allow all eligible persons to be included on the rolls while preventing inclusion of ineligible persons. It is a common allegation that data collectors do not make door-to-door visits.
This results in an inaccurate, non-inclusive and non-credible electoral roll. Only strong and comprehensive monitoring by the ECB can resolve this issue. As per the law, strong actions could be taken against those who fail or neglect to do their duties properly. India observes January 25 as its National Voters' Day to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India and also to enhance the participation of voters, especially the youth, in the democratic process.
Bhutan celebrates this day on September 15, coinciding with the International Democracy Day. The ECB should initiate such a day in Bangladesh to raise awareness. ECB has established server stations at the upazila/thana level throughout the country. Although the main purpose of this initiative is to decentralize the voter registration process, the ECB is still not utilizing this establishment. Immediate steps for decentralizing will help ECB prepare a credible electoral roll.
The right of all adult citizens to participate in the affairs of the government is one of the cornerstones of democracy. If conducted well, voter registration confers legitimacy on the process. But "the harsh reality is that any voter register that is accurate today will be less accurate tomorrow unless effective procedures are put into place to keep the register current."
Every citizen needs to be made aware of proper registration. A single effort of ECB cannot be enough to bring all eligible voters into the mainstream, hence, the civil society, all government and non-government organizations and concerned stakeholders must be involved to make this initiative successful.
The Election Commission should take proper initiatives to make the election mechanism easier, free, fair- so that it earns voters' trust. Election Commission should be neutral to uphold the democratic environment. This will help Bangladesh be a real democratic country. In fine, if there is a credible election, acceptable electoral roll, digitalization of voting system and some other pragmatic steps, Election Commission will appear strong.
The writer is Deputy Director General and Commandant (PRL), Ansar-VDP Academy, Gazipur
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