Says Akbar Ali
Amid a standoff between the government and the main opposition over the caretaker government (CG) system, former adviser Akbar Ali Khan yesterday said the system is necessary to prevent rigging in the polls.
“It is not possible for the Election Commission alone to hold a free, fair and neutral election. It might stop a small-scale rigging,” the former caretaker government adviser told a roundtable discussion at the city’s Jatiya Press Club.
Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), a coalition of individuals across Bangladesh working to achieve good governance, organised the discussion styled Doable for Fair and Neutral Polls.
Caretaker government is not an issue related to law; rather it is a social agreement, which cannot be voided one-sidedly on the pretext of a legal obligation, observed Akbar.
The issue came to the forefront after parliament on June 30 abolished the system through adopting the 15th amendment to the constitution. The amendment made a provision for holding general elections under an elected government.
Scrapping of the system triggered huge resentment among most of the political parties, constitutional experts and different socio-political organisations.
Speakers at the meeting said scrapping of the caretaker government system has halted the path of peaceful transfer of power to a great extent.
They also feared the country’s democratic system might be under serious threat if the standoff between the government and the opposition continues.
Former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin said holding national polls is a huge task, which is almost impossible for the EC alone to manage. “The Election Commission might not be able to ensure neutrality of the administration and law enforcement agencies with a partisan government in power.”
Though the government is speaking about strengthening the EC, there is no action to this end, mentioned another former adviser ASM Shahjahan.
Pointing to the emergency act, Akbar Ali Khan said though the last caretaker government did many bad things, they held the election fairly. “They did bad things using the emergency act. Therefore, we should rethink about it and amend some of its sections.”
Akbar also questioned the legitimacy of keeping 10 percent unelected members in the cabinet.
Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar and columnist Syed Abul Maksud also addressed the roundtable meeting.
-With The Daily Star input
