Sat 26 May 2007
We have argued that the Election Commission needs to conduct grass-roots consultation on the proposed reform package it published in its website on April 5 We too should debate these reforms. That’s the purpose of this post. We list, and where needed, comment on each of the 20 reforms. Full details of the reforms are available here. Here is a very good op-ed on reforms by Shujon’s Badiul Alam Majumdar.
Looking forward to a lively discussion.
1. (a) Only fully registered political parties will be able to nominate candidates. (b) Independent candidates will need to provide signatures of at least 1% of voters in the constituency to be eligible to run. (c) Once a party has been registered for over three years, only members with over three years in the party will be able to run under the party’s ticket.
Comment: See 15 about the registration requirements. The rationale for (b) is to prevent a major candidate to put dozens of dummy candidates who can then put up polling agents to work for the major candidate. However, in marginal seats, surely the major candidates would still be able to collate enough signatures. Reform (c) is useful against nomination-trading.
2. No civilian or military public servant will be able to contest an election until after 3 years from retirement.
Comment: This will prevent the incentive to become partisan hacks while in service. Also, in the current context, this will help avoid the emergence of a military strongman. But there will have to be other institutional reforms to reduce ruling party’s incentives to appoint partisan hacks to civil service.
3. No employee of an NGO with foreign funding will be able to contest an election until after 3 years from retirement.
Comment: How will foreign funding be detected?
4. Tightening of the rules regarding loan defaulters.
5. Tightening of the rules regarding utilities bill defaulters.
6. No one will be contest more than three seats. Anyone contesting more than one seat will have to deposit a non-refundable bond of 5 lakh taka.
Comment: The existing system is a betrayal to the voters who voted for a national leader and ultimately get a relative non-entity through bye-election. But what is the rationale of changing it to three seats? Why not limit the number of seat anyone can contest to one?
7. People will be able to appeal against any candidate on the grounds of default etc.
Comment: While there are ample examples of known defaulters getting nominated from both sides in the cancelled 22 Jan election, this reform will have to be carefully implemented as there is a risk that one’s political opponents will be able to abuse the appeal process to prevent him/her from running.
8. (a) The number of polling agents will be limited to two per booth and four per centre. (b) Results will be announced at the centre.
Comment: The rationale for the (a) is not clear.
9. Any candidate getting less than a fifth of the votes cast will lose their deposit.
Comment: What is the rationale for it (the deposit is 10,000 taka)?
10. Candidates will have to present a comprehensive income statement at the time of submitting their nomination paper.
11. Parties will not be able to receive any donations from foreign sources.
Comment: How will this be enforced?
12. Political parties will have to submit statements on all election related expenditures within 60 days of the official result.
Comment: How will this be enforced? If a party fails to do this, will they lose their seats?
13. Anyone submitting false information will lose their seat.
14. Expedition of election related law suits.
15. To get registration, a party will have to fulfil the following.
(a) The party will have to either: have won a seat or 2% of votes cast in any post-liberation election; or, have effective offices at half the districts and upazillas and 1,000 members in each district and 200 members in each upazilla.
(b) It will have to submit bank account details and sources of funds.
(c) It will have to submit a constitution and manifesto that are not inimical to Bangladesh’s sovereignty.
(d) It will have to practise internal democracy.
(e) It will have to hold annual conferences/conventions/council meetings.
(f) It will have to be audited.
(g) It will not be able to enter an alliance with an unregistered party.
(h) It’s not enough for registration that an elected member from a registered party joins an unregistered party.
(i) If a registered party joins an unregistered party, and fails to abide by the above, then its registration will be cancelled.
Comment: These are all sensible ideas in theory. Particularly, the audit or funds accountability are very important steps in the right direction. And ideally it is better that the parties practise internal democracy. But how will the internal democracy clause be enforced?
16. There will be tax rebates/refunds on donations to political parties.
Comment: This will have to be very carefully implemented, as there is a risk of abuse if the parties’ accounts are not properly audited.
17. The Election Commission will be able to cancel someone’s candidacy for serious offence.
Comment: This is a lot of power for a single body. Is there an appeals process? What is a serious offence exactly?
18. Ward commissioners of city councils will not be able to run for other elections.
Comment: This ought to be extended to include other elected local government members.
19. Amendments to the laws against electoral offence.
20. The Speaker and Deputy Speakers will be considered non-profitable posts.
May 26th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Major ommission: Campaign finance rules and regulations need to enacted, publicized, discussed with stakeholders, and implemented.
This has to be done to stop nominations business and black money influence in elections.
Major incursion: EC should only deal with election. Stripping an elected rep of his post for an arbritary offence is beyond the scope of EC. This could be done by other constitutional/Judicial/parliamentary bodies, not EC.
May 26th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
1(b) Collection of signature is not a practical thought in Bangladesh. People will sit at party office and will sign 1 million signature themselves. And a lot of people can’t sign. And they fear finger tip prints, as they usually sell lands by doing that.
2. 3 year term may not be as effective. More effective way will be to bar them from participating in the next two local and general elections.
8 (a) is needed. In polling centers a psychological warfare is always in the play. One tool to intimidate the opposition agent is to overwhelm him by numbers.
9. No candidate should get their deposit back. This could be a fee they are paying for the government service they are using. ( May be impossible due to constitutional obligations).
10. It’s about time Bangladesh bank/NBR start working on setting up something like credit bureau etc. This non Govt body will have acces to all banks, credit cards, and will be able to very the statements.
11.What is a foreign source? What about NRBs?
May 26th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
A. In reform No. 20, whats a “non-profitable post”, and how does it differ from other candidates?
B. Till date, candidates have been ‘bought’ in a bidding war for up 50 crore taka each in both AL and BNP, leaving poorer or more able & honest candidates out. This practice must be prohibited in reforms?
C. The use of “symbols” - nouka, dhanshiri needs to be overhauled - to use actual names and policies - not sysmbols.
D. Candidate with crime or corruption record will be disqualified.
E. Graffiti, defacing property and wall writing for election campaign must be banned, to protect value, and national funds.
F. Hartal, shutdown, oborodh must be prohibited - peaceful demo without disrupting any public life OK, but not above.
May 26th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I can well predict all the reforms and attemted reforms will fall on their faces unless the CTG put ban on two diseased leaders Sheik Mujib and Zia [These leaders are dead but very active from their grave and they have to be given the absolute rest in their eternal resting places], their parties AWL and BNP and also their party symbols BOAT and PADDY-SHEAF.
They also need ban the party, Bangladesh Jamate Islami and their party symbol scale.
Sheik Hasina and KZ should be relocated to the now empty house/sub-jail where late Shaik Abdur Rahman and BanglaBai were housed.
And the big-shot corrupted leaders should be brought to justice based on their crimes and disqualified for politics for ever.
And the last, but not the least, the people or electorates who have or will have any criminal record should be stripped of their voting rights.
Thanks.
May 27th, 2007 at 2:41 am
All of us on this board talk about democracy and honest candidates and citizen’s right to vote for their candidate of choice.
So what prevents an honest politician from winning votes and getting elected?
In theory when a voter goes into a polling booth, he/she votes secretley and without fear. No one should be able to tell how a person voted.
So home come the nation has been electing mostly corrupt people during the last 15 years?
How big a factor is money? How does a candidate influence VOTERS with money?
With money a candidate can hold big rallies, bribe individual voters and employ local mastals to work on their behalf. But is it feasible for a known corrupt person to win votes just by holding big rallies, paying bribes or intimidating voters?
How big a factor is party affiliation?
Would people elect a known corrupt person just because they are members of a certain party that they support?
What would be the rationale behind this sort of mindset? Do voters think only candidates from the big parties (AL/BNP) will be able to channel development funds to their constituency? Are voters unlikely to vote for someone who is not a member of AL or BNP, or are part of a coalation which includes the two parties?
How big a factor is muscle power?
Do BNP and AL affiliated field workers (mastans) intimidate honest people from contesting elections? Are honest people scared to contest elections because they are afraid of possible repurcations from the elected AL/BNP/(coalition) candidate?
Final Thoughts
==============
The 2008 election, if held free and fairly, will answer many of the questions I have posed. Many have said the citizens of Bangladesh as a whole, including the majority from “Gram Bangla”, have the ability to vote for the right candidate.
I will be waiting for their verdict.
June 1st, 2007 at 3:35 am
Some more thoughts from DS today:
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/01/d706011501131.htm
June 1st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
KGazi,
Thanks for providing the DS list.
Among other things, the article raises the point about 1% signature for independent candidate being impractical.
Daily Star also invites debates on the proposal. Whether we want to jail/exile the netris or not, whether we like Zia or not, whether we think the CTG is doing a good job or not, we all want genuine election reforms so that we don’t have to face another pre-1/11 situation. We should take up DS on its offer and provide comments.
June 3rd, 2007 at 1:38 am
Actually I did not find any appropriate Thread
to Post this Interview of Respected Ex Adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan with Shamokal. I found this is going
nearer on the merit of Subject.
http://www.shamokal.com/details.php?nid=62947
I hope Jyoti will shed some light on very particular Topic. I strongly recommend all DP blogger to read this at least once.
Asif, Is it possible to translate in to English and to post as individual topic. I found a real road map is coming Via Dr Khan
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:52 am
Journey to infinitive (8),
Thanks for the link, it’s a great interview.
Dr Khan cautions against setting expectations that are hard to meet. For example, it is well near impossible to root out corruption in all its manifestation. So if that’s what we expect, we’ll be disappointed. He also makes an excellent point about irrational romanticism leading to fascism. I couldn’t agree more.
He argues for checks and balances, and calls for strong and elected local government. Again I wholeheartedly agree.