Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said on Wednesday that 12th general election held on January 7 was one sided but made to look like competitive.
The conditions for holding free, participatory, impartial and competitive election with level playing field were absent in the election, said the anti-corruption watchdog in its research paper titled "The 12th Parliament Election Process Tracking" unveiled at TIB Dhanmondi office.
TIB presented its initial report of the study and said the final report will be released on February 7. The research contained primary findings of the study on the January 7 polls.
TIB conducted the study in 50 out of 300 constituencies.
TIB termed the existing election process as an ominous sign for the countrys democracy and future of elections.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "Independent candidates of the ruling party were given the opportunity to get into the race to show that the election was competitive and participatory, which was not the case in most of the constituencies."
He said that the election was not held in a participatory manner due to the rigid stance of the countrys two major political parties over election-time administration.
"The Election Commission, the law enforcement agencies and the administration worked to implement the governments agenda," he said.
Mentioning the latest general election as an ominous sign for the future of democracy and election in Bangladesh, he said, "The agenda to ensure continuous stay in power through one-sided election has been successfully achieved."
"The election may not be disputed from a legal standpoint but it will remain questionable forever for lacking political integrity and moral adherence to democratic standards," said Iftekharuzzaman.
He said, "Pledges made during campaigns to establish good governance and check corruption were only in documents. The Election Commission did not use its constitutional power or mandate stipulated in Article 126 of the Constitution to resolve the political crisis by holding participatory and fair election."
According to the TIB research, each candidate spent on an average Tk 1,56,83,777 in the election, which is more than six times the expenditure limit. Total expenditure in the election stood at Tk 2,276 crore, thrice the expenditure of the 11th election. TIB findings said that the 12th general election proved once again that political ideology had nothing to do with the long-standing culture of power struggle.
TIB said that the Election Commission had worked to implement electoral agenda, sometimes intransigently, sometimes subtly, in the name of constitutional obligations and legal bindings. The other state institutions, particularly the law enforcement agencies and the administration, also did the same, it said.
In the research findings, TIB raised questions regarding the role of the Election Commission . There were many controversies including doubling the number of voters since the last election, realignment of parliamentary seats, registration of new parties, and lack of confidence in the Election Commission.
