EC for indoor politics in district HQs by Dec

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The Election Commission (EC) wants the interim government to allow indoor politics in all district headquarters of the country by December this year for expediting the field level task of preparing the voter list with photographs and to implement the electoral reforms.

“We strongly recommended the government to relax the restrictions on indoor politics in district headquarters by December,” Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain told reporters yesterday in his office.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda on Tuesday said the state of emergency should be lifted in places at least two months prior to holding polls to local governments there, which are scheduled to begin in January.

In defence of the demand for allowing indoor politics, the election commissioner argued that only senior leaders of the political parties are now discussing the electoral reform proposals including the proposed provision for mandatory registration of the parties with the commission, which they should actually discuss with district level leaders too.

On political parties’ cooperation in the field level task of preparing the voter list with photographs, Sakhawat said the grassroots level leaders are currently helping informally. “It will be more helpful for us if local units of the political parties are able to assist us formally. We hope, they will be able to do that soon,” he added.

The field level task of preparing the voter list with photographs will begin at full throttle next month with an aim to having the finalised list ready by October next year, which is the set deadline for it.

In response to the EC’s proposals, the caretaker government allowed indoor politics only in the capital on a limited scale with a set of conditions attached, to create an atmosphere conducive to holding electoral reform talks between the commission and political parties.

After indoor politics had been allowed in the capital, CEC Huda said the EC had expected the government to allow indoor politics all across the country with similar conditions attached.

According to the EC’s electoral roadmap, the government will have to either lift or relax the countrywide state of emergency in phases from January as holding of due elections to local governments is scheduled to begin in January.

The polls to five city corporations, over 4,000 union parishads, and to 140 municipalities are scheduled to be held between January and December 2008. The long overdue elections to 482 upazila parishads across the country are scheduled to be held between November and December next year while the parliamentary election is supposed to be held sometime between October and December of the same year, says the EC’s electoral roadmap endorsed by the caretaker government.

“So, we are expecting that the restrictions on indoor politics in district headquarters will be relaxed by December this year paving the way for holding the polls to local governments,” the election commissioner said adding that the state of emergency should also be relaxed in those areas where elections will be held.

“Three to four elections to local governments will be held every month in each districts when we will start holding a series of polls to local governments,” Sakhawat said.

All sorts of political activities like holding rallies and meetings are currently banned due to the state of emergency declared on January 11 this year, but the government will have to lift the restrictions to implement the EC’s electoral roadmap regarding local government elections scheduled to start in January.

In line with its plan, the EC emphasised holding of overdue polls to city corporations first. It already announced that the polls to Rajshahi and Khulna city corporations will be held sometime between the end of January and February as the voter lists for the areas are almost ready.

Holding of the long overdue polls to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is scheduled for sometime between March and April next year, while the EC decided to have the voter list for the area ready in January.

The commission is also pondering about holding the elections to Sylhet and Barisal city corporations in early May, the latest month in which the polls to those city corporations may be held staying within the timeframe permitted by the law. The commission is going to start the field level work of voter listing in Sylhet and Barisal city corporations this month with a view to completing the job in a month.

The local government and rural development ministry in a letter last month asked the EC to hold the due polls to local governments as soon as the voter lists for the areas are ready.

Senior officials of the EC Secretariat said apart from holding polls to the city corporations, polls to over 4,000 union parishads will also be due between January and March of the next year.

“According to the electoral roadmap, we will try to hold polls to union parishads of some areas where the voter list will be ready,” a senior official said.

Voter lists of many areas will be ready within this year for holding polls to local governments early next year, said the EC official adding that before holding the polls in those areas, voter lists of other areas might also be ready.

Meanwhile in another move the EC is planning to seek the power to cancel candidacies of contestants in local government elections including for city corporations, municipalities, and union parishads, if irregularities are found in election campaigns. Earlier, the commission sought the same power for the parliamentary election too.

The EC is also mulling a provision for restricting retired military and civil servants, and officials of NGOs that run on foreign grants, from contesting in local government polls within three years of their retirement, the commission sources said.

Defaulters of loans and utility bills will also be barred from contesting in local government polls if the ECs plan gets the nod, the sources added.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain said the commission is scrutinising the existing rules for local government elections, to update it.

“We will send our proposals to the local government ministry,” he said.

The proposed code of conduct by the EC for political parties and electoral candidates in the parliamentary polls are likely to be recommended for local government elections too, the EC sources added.

The proposals are for strict regulations on holding campaign rallies and processions, putting up of posters, graffiti writings, display of banners and festoons, making of caps, constructions of archways and gates, decorative illumination, and use of helicopters for the campaigns.

The EC is also looking for options to remove differences in campaign spending. During the last polls, a mayoral candidate was allowed to spend up to Tk 5 lakh, although there were big differences in numbers of voters in different city corporations.

The number of voters in Dhaka City Corporation was 39.78 lakh during the last elections while the number was 1.63 lakh in Barisal and 1.81 lakh in Sylhet city corporations.

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