Chief Election Commissioner
We want to stay above criticism by holding a fair election: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Sunday said the Election Commission wants to remain above criticism by holding a free, fair and credible election as the last two national polls were tainted by controversies.
“Though there were criticisms and debates over many elections in the past, the 2014 and 2018 elections drew excessive criticism and debates in the political sphere. We want to stay above criticism and controversy by conducting free and acceptable elections without bias,” he said.
The CEC came up with the remark at the EC’s talks with the governing Bangladesh Awami League at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the city’s Agargaon area.
Also read: CEC calls for changes in the country’s electoral system
An AL delegation, led by its general secretary Obaidul Quader, joined the talks as part of the EC’s dialogues with registered political parties, arranged to seek their opinions over the 12th parliamentary elections slated to be held next year.
The CEC said it is the constitutional and statutory responsibility of the Election Commission to hold free and neutral elections. Similarly, it is the constitutional and statutory duty of the government to assist the EC,” he said.
"We’ll continue our sincere efforts to make elections free and acceptable,” he said.
Describing Awami League as the oldest party and one of the biggest political parties in the country, he said, “We’ve also higher expectations from the big party.”
Awal said AL has been in power for three terms in a row. So, the common people call AL as a ruling party or power party. But there is no mention of government party or ruling party in the constitution. “If I am not wrong, Awami League is a political party like ten other parties,” he said.
The Election Commission will perform its responsibility to hold the 12th national election in free, neutral and participatory manners and ensure the exercise of voting rights as per the laws and regulations remaining obliged to the Constitution, he said.
Also read: CEC calls for all-party participation in next national election
“We hope that everyone will cooperate with the Commission and wish success for the parties in maintaining their responsible behaviors over the national election,” he added.
Citing that the Election Commission received views from the political parties both for and against the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the EC’s talks, the CEC said, “Most of the parties do not believe in EVMs…. We can't gain the confidence of many people after talking. We will make decisions independently. But there is no consensus.”
Talking about the proposals received from other political parties in the dialogues, Habibul Awal said some parties favour staggering the national election for several days, instead of on a single day and some parties also asked for the deployment of army in the parliamentary polls.
Four other election commissioners and EC secretary also spoke at the talks.
AL leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Matia Chowdhury, Kazi Zafarullah, Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Faruk Khan, Hasan Mahmud, Shahabuddin Chuppu, Abdus Sobhan Golap, Barrister Biplab Barua, Salim Mahmud, Shamsunnahar Chapa and Sayeem Khan were the other delegation members.
With the talks with AL, the EC has apparently wrapped up its dialogues with the political parties.
Among 39 registered political parties, 28 participated in the EC’s talks, while nine abstained and the remaining two parties sought time to sit with the Commission.
CEC calls for changes in the country’s electoral system
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Sunday called for changes in electoral system to make the balloting acceptable to all.
The CEC said this during a dialogue with Jatiya Party (Japa) at the EC Bhaban on Sunday.
“Under the current system, no matter how much competency I demonstrate, it is very difficult to come up with an election that is absolutely acceptable to everyone," he said.
He said it is also a disappointment because everyone will not sincerely help the EC to properly perform its duty.
Also read: An EC under partisan govt can’t hold credible election: BNP
The CEC also suggested holding workshops to find out the way out and have an acceptable vote.
The 14-member Japa delegation was led by its secretary general Mujibul Haque Chunnu.
Chunnu proposed staggering the upcoming national elections for seven days to make it free from rigging and violence.
Also read: CEC calls for all-party participation in next national election
He also proposed distribution of the seats of the Parliament based on the percentage of votes (proportional election). The party opposed use Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
Four election commissioners and senior officials of the EC were also present at the dialogue.
Don’t run away from election, CEC urges the political parties
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Sunday urged the political parties to stay in the election field saying that the Commission will fail if all political parties don’t cooperate with it.
“You must have a concerted effort. If someone stands with a sword, you should stand with a rifle or another sword. If you run, what do I do? We will help. We’ll have command over the police and the government,” he said.
The CEC made the remarks at the meeting with a team of Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), which was held at the Nirbachan Bhaban here, opening the EC’s dialogues with registered political parties.
"We can’t stop the violence. You (political parties) also have to take responsibility. You are the players. You play on the field. We’re the referees. We’ve huge power. The power is not less. We’ll apply the power,” he said.
Habibul asked the people not to judge the current commission by the performances of the last two general elections in 2014 and 2018. “We’ll take responsibility of the elections conducted by us. We will make every effort to make the election participatory and impartial. If all parties do not cooperate, we will fail there,” he said.
In response to CEC's statement, NDM chairman Bobby Hajjaj said that the law doesn’t permit standing with shotguns. However, the CEC did not make any further comments in response.
Later at seperate talks with Bangladesh Congress, Habibul changed his stance asking the political parties not to engage in electoral fights with swords and riffles.
Describing the election as one kind of fighting, he said none should fight with weapons here. “Actually, you will have to fight with public support. Don't fight with swords-rifles.....fight for the ballots. You’ll have to fight the battle for ballots,” he went on.
About the election-time government, Habibul in the talks with NDM said, “The one that will be there during the election is the government. I have repeatedly said that the political party and the government are not the same.... We will seek help from the government. If the government does not help, then there could be dire consequences of the election.”
Also read: CEC assures OECD countries’ envoys of holding inclusive, acceptable polls
He said the participation of political parties, particularly major parties in the election is very essential. “I can’t force any party to participate in the election. But we will continue asking all parties repeatedly to participate effectively. We will continue that effort,'' he added.
He said the public opinion would not be reflected accurately unless there is no competition in the election.
The CEC said if only a political party forms the government winning 300 constituencies, there is no constitutional barrier here. But history says, in that case, democracy will die soon, he went on.
Also read: Despite pros and cons, EVMs better than ballots: CEC
About the Electronic Voting Machines, the CEC said the EC went for open talks with political parties and experts following arrangement of five to seven workshops on EVMs. “No one could show any flaw,” he continued.
Noting that the propaganda over the EVMs continues, he said there is confusion and doubt about EVMs. “We are really worried.... It is our hope that the national leaders will resolve the contentious issues through intensive discussions with a positive attitude and create a favorable environment and level playing field in the upcoming general election,” he added.
The NDM team led by its chairman Bobby Hajjaj placed an eight-point proposal in the meeting. The proposals include staggering the holding the national elections, bringing the full control of public administration under the EC during the election, incorporating audit paper trail (Voter-verified paper audit trail-VVPAT) in EVMs, stopping the wholesale arrest in political cases after announcement of election schedules and controlling the ceiling of election expenditures strongly.
The delegation of Bangladesh Congress, led by its chairman Advocate Kazi Rezaul Hossain, raised a number of proposals in the dialogue with the EC. The proposals include running three ministries –-home, public administration and defence-– by the CEC during the election and announcement of schedule three months before election.
Other proposals include introduction of printed tokens with electoral symbols in the EVMs and allocating .02pc of the national budget for registered political parties and distributing the money equally among the parties to run the parties and spend these for social welfare.
In a separate meeting, a team of Bangladesh Nationalist Front-BNF, led by its president SM Abul Kalam Azad expressed uncertainty over a credible and participatory election in the existing political culture.
In this context, BNF asked the Election Commission to play a bold role as a constitutional body.
The party, in a written statement, said the social unrest, political instability, absence of a strong opposition political party in the parliament is pushing the parliamentary democratic system towards uncertainty in the country. “In this situation, an acceptable and participatory election in a peaceful manner is uncertain.”
The EC invited four parties out of 39 registered political parties to join its dialogues separately on Sunday. But three parties participated in the talks. Bangladesh Muslim League-BML didn’t join the scheduled talks.
Despite pros and cons, EVMs better than ballots: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has said that electronic voting machines are more acceptable than ballots in national and local government elections.
"EVMs are better than ballots, even if there are pros and cons among the political parties on EVMs. There is no chance of one person voting for another. It is impossible for me or you to vote for anyone in EVM," he said.
Kazi Habibul Awal made the remarks at an exchange of views on EVMs with various political parties on Tuesday.
The EC held an exchange of views on EVMs with 13 registered political parties at the Election Building in the capital on Tuesday afternoon. Although 13 registered political parties were invited to participate in the meeting, only eight parties took part.
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd.) Ahsan Habib Khan, Md. Alamgir and Begum Rashida Sultana and EC Secretary Khandaker Humayun Kabir were also present.
"As far as elections are concerned, we have not received any allegation from any center that EVMs have been misused," the CEC said at the meeting.
At some polling stations, the fingerprints of the voters did not match in the EVM. However, after they went home and cleaned their hands, they were able to cast their votes if their fingerprints matched.
Also Read: CEC denies Bahauddin was ordered to leave Cumilla during polls
"EVMs can cause some problems. But in a ballot, one can get one hundred votes instead of one, but in EVM, that is not possible. I can't vote for you or your vote in EVM. This is absolutely impossible," he stressed.
CEC Kazi Habibul Awal said the question was whether the ballot was good or bad.
"I have my own experience on the ballot, how to occupy the polling station. The ballot box is filled with two or three hundred seals in one hour, you can't even close it from the side. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person.
The CEC said there were pros and cons with EVMs. It can exist.
"We are trying to overcome that. However, we have not yet made a decision on EVM. We value the views of all political parties. We also have the right to decide. However, we will take the opinion of all parties. We will not take any decision about EVM without taking everyone's opinion," he said.
Kazi Habibul Awal further said, "We will analyze the views of the political parties. We have invited 39 registered political parties with interest. We are doing our part with honesty and integrity.
"None of us will do anything obedient to the government. Even those who are members of our commission will not do any work in obedience to the government. None of us will act ignorant of the government. The government will not want us to be ignorant. Even if you do that, it will not be a secret. Just as we have dignity, so does the government," he added.
Addressing the political parties, the CEC said, "You will have to make every effort to make good elections. Come to the polling station without sitting at home. Whether we are manipulating the EVM, whether we are casting fake votes, whether there is any rigging in the ballot — these need to be noted. Everyone has to take responsibility equally. Otherwise, the election will not be fair if we rely on four or five people (commission).
"Your responsibilities are much greater," he added. "You will be at the center. You have to be aware. How many centers will I go to as CEC? Can we stand in the center with a stick? I can't. But we will try to use the police-BGB."
CEC denies Bahauddin was ordered to leave Cumilla during polls
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Monday said the Election Commission didn’t direct ruling party lawmaker AKM Bahauddin Bahar to leave his home town during the recently held Cumilla City Corporation.
“He (Bahauddin) is undoubtedly a very important person. But the Election Commission can’t order anyone, even an ordinary person to leave his place (permanent address) let alone him (Bahauddin),” said the CEC at a press conference at his office in the city’s Agargaon area.
“We didn’t issue any order to Mr Bahauddin to leave his place. We humbly requested him to assist the Election Commission for the sake of maintenance of the electoral codes. We still have the letter,” he said.
But the news spread everywhere that the EC issued a directive, but can’t implement it, he said.
The CEC said an outsider can be ordered to leave the electoral place, but Cumilla is the permanent address of the lawmaker.
The EC instructed local MP AKM Bahauddin Bahar not to stay in the area after EC received the allegation of his campaigning in the Cumilla city polls. But he did not leave the area and rather filed a writ petition in the High Court.
Also read: Elections to Cumilla city, other local bodies were peaceful: CEC
The EC has been widely criticized for this. Explaining the matter, Habibul Awal said that Bahauddin did not break any law.
The CEC explained that they received an allegation that he was secretly campaigning and so the commission requested him.
"He may or may not keep the request. But it would have been better if he had left," he said.
He added that EC did not see him take part in public campaigns. But some say he took part tactically. One of our expectations was that if EC requested him, it will end all confusion.
Awal said the EC forced an influential minister to leave the area within an hour as he was an outsider.
READ: CEC: Not fully confident over EVM yet
Election Commissioners- Brigadier General (Retd.) Ahsan Habib Khan, Begum Rasheda Sultana, Md. Alamgir and EC Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker were also present.
The Cumilla city election was held on June 15 where Awami League candidate Arfanul Haque Rifat won as mayor defeating his nearest independent rival Monirul Islam Sakku by 343 votes.
CEC vows to win public trust about the body
The Election Commission will do its best to remove the trust deficit about it for holding a credible national election, CEC Kazi Habibul Awal said on Monday.
“We want to hold elections remaining above all (sorts of biasness) by removing the crisis of trust,” the chief election commissioner said this at a dialogue with media personalities at the Nirbachan Bhaban here.
Read: EC to hold polls with cooperation from all parties: CEC
Awal said they started talks with stakeholders as soon as they took over the charge of the Election Commission.
“We’ll note your opinion and review it. The roadmap for the next 12th national election will be prepared taking opinion from of the dialogues,” he said.
Senior journalists from different electronic media joined the dialogue on Monday as part of a series of such meetings to elicit opinion on how to hold a free and fair election in the country.
Read: New CEC’s sweet words not a guarantee: BNP
Earlier, the EC, constituted in February last, sat with educationists, civil society members and senior journalists from print media in three phases.
EC to hold polls with cooperation from all parties: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Friday said the Election Commission (EC) is eager to hold any election with cooperation from all parties.
"Our duty is to conduct elections in accordance with the law and the constitution," he told reporters at the Chattogram Regional Election Office in the afternoon.
Read:New CEC urges all political parties to take part in elections to strengthen democracy
Whether it is a national election or a local government election, the EC's responsibility is to ensure that all parties participate in the elections in the light of the law, the CEC added.
"We hope the next national election will be participatory."
About Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), he said, "We still don't understand EVMs. We will talk about this later."
Regional Election Officer Mohammad Hasanuzzaman, Senior District Election Officer Jahangir Hossain and Additional District Election Officer Kamrul Islam were present at the event.
Read: President appoints former defence secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the new CEC
The CEC came to Chattogram on a four-day visit. He will start for his own home in Swandwip on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, he will attend the smart card distribution ceremony there at 11 am. He will leave for Dhaka after returning to Chattogram from Sandwip on Monday.
New CEC urges all political parties to take part in elections to strengthen democracy
Newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Monday urged all political parties to participate in elections to help strengthen the country’s democracy.
“I would like to urge all in an unequivocal voice to restore our democratic process and form a dialectical (vibrant) parliament by participating in the elections, “the CEC told a press conference at the Nirbachan Bhaban on the very first day in office.
“We’ll try to present good governance and parliament to the nation through a fair election. We’ll not have any stinginess from this perspective,” he said.
Habibul said “We would like to make all election-oriented. There will be no deficit in our efforts.”
Also read: New CEC, four ECs take oath
When his attention was drawn to BNP’s announcement that it would not join the next national election, he said, “Wouldn’t we invite them for having talks and tea even after BNP made the announcement?”
He urged the political parties not to leave the electoral field to help the commission arrange for the polls in the fair manner. “The election, particularly the parliamentary one, is a massive act. So, political parties also have a role to make the elections fair,” he said.
In reply to another question about restoration of trust among political parties, the new CEC said the EC will assist the political leadership as a whole. “If the minimum compromise is not there among the political leadership, I can’t be their ‘Murubbi’ (mediators).”
“They (political parties) are much more knowledgeable and experienced than us. We’ll appeal to them to reach a compromise,” he said.
Also read: President appoints former defence secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the new CEC
Habibul said all members of his commission are committed to performing their electoral responsibilities with utmost sincerity, integrity and honesty.
“My colleagues and I, in a unified voice, said that we will try to conduct the next election following our constitutional pledge and oath,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said, “We’ll try our best so the voters can apply their voting right, which is a big challenge. We will want to bring the voters in confidence,” said the new CEC.
“We hope, pray and expect from the core of our heart that all political parties will try to strengthen our republic and democracy by participating in the elections, '' he said.
Four newly-appointed election commissioners Begum Rashida Sultana, Ahsan Habib Khan, M Alamgir and Anisur Rahman and EC Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker were present at the event.
The CEC and four election commissioners took oath of office on Sunday afternoon and joined the office on Monday morning.
Earlier on Saturday last, President Md Abdul Hamid appointed former Senior Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the CEC as well as four others --District and Session Judge (Retd) Begum Rashida Sultana, Brig Gen (Retd) Ahsan Habib Khan, Senior Secretary (Retd) M Alamgir and Senior Secretary (Retd) Anisur Rahman as the election commissioners.
New CEC, four ECs take oath
Newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal and four election commissioners took oath of office on Sunday afternoon.
Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique administered the oath at the Judges’ Lounge of the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Registrar General Md Ali Akbar moderated the function.
President Md Abdul Hamid on Saturday appointed former Senior Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the CEC as well as four others --District and Session Judge (Retd) Begum Rashida Sultana, Brig Gen (Retd) Ahsan Habib Khan, Senior Secretary (Retd) M Alamgir and Senior Secretary (Retd) Anisur Rahman as the election commissioners.
The new Election Commission, constituted for the first time under a law in line with the Constitution, will take charge of office on Monday.
The immediate past commission, headed by KM Nurul Huda, completed its five year tenure on February 14 last.
Read: President appoints former defence secretary Kazi Habibul Awal as the new CEC
Kazi Habibul Awal went on retirement as defence secretary in January, 2015.
The new election commission was also formed through a search committee as was done in case of the last two commissions in 2017 and 2012.
The search committee, headed by Justice Oabidul Hassan of the Appellate Division, proposed 10 names –two against each post— for the appointment of CEC and ECs.
President Abdul Hamid received the 10 names on Thursday last.
Earlier, the search committee sought the names for the EC’s constitution from registered political parties. But BNP and several others did not send any names.
The committee also held a series of meetings with eminent citizens, civil society representatives and media personalities in this regard.
The newly formed Kazi Habibul Awal-led Election Commission will face the challenge to conduct the 12th parliamentary elections to be held in late 2023 or early 2024.
The five-year tenure of the incumbent parliament will expire on January 28, 2024. But the general election shall be held within 90 days before the expiry of Parliament.
Disclose 10 final names: Shujan to Search Committee
Shushaner Janniya Nagorik (Shujan) on Thursday asked the Search Committee constituted for the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners to disclose the list of the 10 final names three days before its submission to the President.
It also suggested the Search Committee to disclose who actually proposed which names for the posts of CEC and election commissioners for the sake of transparency
Shujan Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder placed the suggestions at an online press conference, said a press release.
Also read: Next Election Commission: 322 names proposed to search committee published
“The search committee needs to reveal its modus operandi immediately before people for the sake of maintaining its absolute transparency and neutrality,” he said.
Dr Majumder, in his written statement, said transparency cannot be ensured if incomplete information is revealed or information was concealed.
“The Search Committee needs to disclose the proposers – individuals, political parties and professional bodies—beside the names of initially suggested 322 people (exact 315 names). And it needs to prepare and publish a list of 20-30 persons, including one-third women from the primary list,” he said.
Then the Search Committee should prepare the final list of 10 people, including a report, and publish the list and report the people three days before these are sent to the President, said the Shujan Secretary.
Also read: Search committee asks political parties to suggest names for CEC, ECs
Shujan President M Hafizuddin Khan, its members Dr Shahdeen Malik, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Dr Shahnaz Huda and Robaet Ferdous, among others, spoke at the conference.