Candidates from 29 out of the 44 registered political parties filed nominations for the national election, by November 30, the last date for submission of nomination papers. The rest including The BNP and its like-minded parties boycotted the polls, saying no election under the incumbent government would be fair and acceptable.
Ruling Awami League (AL) and its arch rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are making all possible efforts to make January 7, 2024 a historic day implementing their respective plans. The former wants to hold the 12th parliamentary election on the day while the latter to foil the planned polling across the country.
However, Candidates from 29 out of the 44 registered political parties have filed nominations for the national election, by November 30, the last date for submission of nomination papers. The rest including The BNP and its like-minded parties boycotted the polls, saying no election under the incumbent government would be fair and acceptable.
"Though BNP is not participating in the election as a party, 30 former lawmakers of the party, including its 15 central leaders are taking part in the election," AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on December 1. "The train of the 12th parliamentary election is already running, and it won't stop until it reaches its destination, no matter how many obstacles come."
Meanwhile the confidence of the people in the Election Commission (EC) has been strengthened after it has taken certain steps against some rogue candidates including several from the ruling party. The confidence of the voters boosted as no EC ever took such steps against such rogue candidates, in the past. Only the caretaker governments in 1991, 1996, 2001 and the army-backed interim government in 2008 took such steps ahead of the parliamentary elections.
The EC last week asked the home ministry to transfer all officers-in-charge (OCs) discharging duties at their respective police stations for over six months. It also asked the public administration ministry to transfer all Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) in phases. In the first phase, it asked to transfer all UNOs who have been working in their respective upazilas for more than a year.
Accordingly the relevant ministries listed 338 OCs and 157 UNOs for transfer so far and the transfer is under process with the approval of the EC. Bangladesh has 495 upazilas 534 police stations. All UNOs and OCs under the criteria suggested by the EC will be transferred gradually ahead of the election, officials said. Meanwhile the EC show-caused and warned a number of candidates including the heavyweights for breaching election code of conduct.
The EC recently asked nearly 200 candidates including 20 ruling AL nominees, comprising five ministers, to explain why they had violated the electoral code of conduct. The ministers are Textile Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam Disaster Management State Minister Enamur Rahman, ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Sports State Minister Zahid Ahsan Russel.
A local leader of Chhatra League, the students frot of AL was arrested for threatening an independent candidate in Narsingdi recently. He was arrested from New Market area in the capital, days after he made the threat to the independent candidate at an election rally organized by AL nominated candidate incumbent, a parliament member Mohammad Nazrul Islam.
Among the candidates, asked to show cause AL nominated candidate for Magura-1, Shakib Al Hasan, the iconic cricketer, on recently replied in writing to the show cause notice served on him for breaching electoral code of conduct.
Shakib, appeared before the court of Joint District and Sessions Judge and Head of Magura-1 election inquiry committee Satyabrata Shikder to reply to the notice.
Shakib Al Hasan came to Magura on November 29. Then his fans and eager people gathered in the Kamarkhali area, which was alleged to have breached the election code of conduct.
The EC has also completed scrutiny of nomination papers of 2,713 aspirants and the nomination papers of 184 have been cancelled on various grounds. The EC will complete on the cancelled nominations papers in six days till December 15.
Meanwhile, leadership-depleted BNP amid an ongoing government crackdown, continued to call for repeated spell of 48-hour of national blockade with respite on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. However, today (Sunday), on international Human Rights Day, the party has announced a programme to hold a human chain demonstration across the country, to protests against 'government repression against political rivals.'
The calls for blockade and hartal were largely ignored by the people across the country and the agitations have become largely ineffective, although scores of transports mainly vehicles and railway passenger compartments are burned, at different places the country in stealthy attacks. The government blames activists of BNP and its allies for all these regular arson attacks on public transports. Accordingly police have detained a large number of BNP leaders and activists for these arson attacks that began after police foiled a massive gathering of anti-government activists and their supporters in Dhaka on October 28 last.
However, as of today, the anti-government agitators have been cornered as the law enforcers aided by pro government activists took the streets under control amid growing concerns of the so called pro-democratic forces, rights groups, corruption watchdogs, and unbiased media. In context of Bangladesh politics members of all these aforesaid institutions are divided at home and abroad. Accordingly an equal group of members of these institutions support the ideologies and activities of AL and its arch rival BNP. Similarly the general voters are also divided, but they prefer to stay low profile hiding their affinity.
BNP and its allies so long standing expectation that the incumbent government will have a tremendous pressure from western countries mainly the United States and the European Union to accept the demand for holding the upcoming election under a non party caretaker government. The expectations increased gradually when a number of western envoys, including the US Ambassador to Bangladesh started poking their nose in every political aspects of Bangladesh.
The western envoys were restrained after the government and EC pledged to hold free, fair and peaceful elections. The envoys also distanced themselves from anti-government parties gradually as the rivals of the ruling AL went violent on October 28 and the aftermath.
As the EC, the government and the other stakeholders are preparing for January 7 election, the government is likely to face a final resistance from its rivals backed by a large radical group Bangladesh Islami Andolan in coming weeks.
