The National Citizen Party (NCP) has strongly protested and condemned what it called the Election Commission's "independence-less and spineless" role, pointing to contradictory statements from the EC and a state minister over the schedule and process for upcoming local government elections.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday evening, NCP Convener Nahid Islam and Member Secretary Akhter Hossen said Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah announced possible dates for the seven phases of local government elections, only for State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam to immediately claim the government has no knowledge of the matter and that no discussions have taken place with the EC.
Compounding the confusion, they said, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed publicly stated afterwards that the state minister's remarks will be treated as binding and that he will not "dare" to make any counter-comments, a response the NCP leaders said exposed the commission's "extreme spinelessness and subordination."
While it is natural for an independent constitutional body like the EC to have its own decisions and positions, the NCP leaders said, the secretary's silence in the face of the state minister's comments proves the commission can no longer exercise the independent role granted to it by the Constitution and has become fully subservient to the government.
They added that the EC's shifting statements under government pressure and influence reflect "extreme capriciousness" that is destroying even the minimum guarantee of a neutral and fair election.
The NCP leaders expressed outrage, alleging that instead of strengthening state institutions after coming to power, the current administration has instead focused on their partisan capture.
They described the attempt to “control” the EC and run elections under the government's own supervision as a clear manifestation of "fascist-style greed for power and undemocratic practice."
The party further alleged that the government has moved to turn the constitutional body into a partisan instrument by appointing, on a contractual basis, a person linked to its own party's election-related activities as an additional secretary of the commission.
The NCP demanded that the EC immediately free itself from government influence and interference and function as an independent, autonomous institution.
It also called for a clear explanation to the nation over what it termed the commission's unprofessional conduct in capitulating before the executive branch, and demanded an immediate end to what it described as the executive's illegal influence and undemocratic interference over the EC and other state institutions.
Nahid and Akhter warned that the public, following the new democratic journey that began after the July uprising, will not accept an Election Commission that is spineless and subservient to the government bureaucracy.
They cautioned that if the government fails to let the EC function impartially and continues to run institutions in an undemocratic manner according to its own wishes, the NCP will launch a tough resistance movement on the streets alongside the country's people.