Election possible despite law and order concerns, CEC tells BBC Bangla

Exactly when the national election will be held in Bangladesh is still unresolved. Doubts and uncertainties have arisen in politics regarding the election. In this context, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin has spoken about election preparations.

In an interview with BBC Bangla, he answered questions about mob or group unrest, the challenge of law and order situations, and even his neutrality.

He also spoke about various issues, including whether the ousted Awami League will be able to participate in the election, and the decision not to give the “Shapla” symbol to the new political party NCP.

In response to the question, “Can you now say when the election will be held?”, CEC said: “It’s very difficult for me to respond, because I myself don’t know the exact date.”

“I don’t know the polling date. It is being said in the first half of April.”
“That kind of thing will be communicated to us with some idea that— please go ahead— this is the range.”

When asked whether the government has informed the Election Commission of the polling date, he said: “Just as you know, I know the same— either February, meaning before Ramadan, or in April. That is what he (the Chief Adviser) has always been saying. That is all I know, what you know, what the nation knows from his speech.”

In response to the question whether the government told the EC anything about when or within what time the election could be held, the CEC said: “No, nothing like that has been said. We are assuming— it is our assumption— that the current timeframe being mentioned is either early February before Ramadan, or it may be sometime in the first half of April. Could be early April.”

He said, “From the beginning we were preparing targeting December.”

“Because back then he said December to June. That’s why we targeted December— from day one we started preparing ourselves.”

When asked whether he was given any idea about the election’s timeframe at the time of appointment, he said: “No, it was not given. But I assumed that an election would happen. First, I sat with my officers— what we need to do to hold an election, what tasks we have to carry out, what tasks remain— they will make a chart for us and tell us how long each task takes. Back then we didn’t know about December or any other timeline. That timeline hadn’t come yet.”

In response to the question “When did you start preparations targeting December?”, Nasir Uddin said:
“When the Chief Adviser made the announcement; probably on December 16 last year, when he addressed the nation, I was in Moulvibazar. I heard there that ‘either it will be in December or in June’— I heard this in his speech.”

Asked if he then thought the election could be in December, he said: “Yes, after hearing that we increased preparations, taking December as the basis, doing back calculation. Because as per our RPO (Representation of the People Order), we have to announce the schedule at least two months before the election date.”

He said: “Because the activities needed from schedule announcement to polling day, on average it’s not possible without two months. For example, time is needed for filing nominations.”

In response to another question, the Chief Election Commissioner said: “We received no guidance, no suggestions, no orders, no instructions— nothing from the government regarding our preparation. We are absolutely independently taking this preparation.”

When asked about the opinion of several political parties that the environment is not suitable for an election now, the CEC said: “Actually, we are not guided by political statements. Politicians say all sorts of things. Some parties talk about February elections, then backtrack and say no elections before reforms. They say different kinds of things. These are political statements.”

Asked whether organizing an election amid the fragile law and order situation and ongoing mob violence will be difficult, he said: “It will be challenging. But it is possible. Challenging— because the law and order situation we saw in August or on 8th August last year has improved a lot, right? It has improved a lot.”

He said: “Assume when the election happens, you will see everything calm by that time, there will be no issues. Especially every political party, big or small, has been talking about a fair election from the beginning. No one has said they want an election like before. If people are with you, then no mob or law and order situation can harm you.”

“The people don’t want mobs. But still, it hasn’t come under control yet. We’re seeing it’s happening regularly.”

Asked how it will work in this situation, he said: “I am confident that when the election happens— the Chief Adviser’s press secretary has briefed, not only the police, but he has raised various questions about the deployment of law enforcement, starting from the army— how the army will be deployed, how the BGB will be used, etc. Just as the government is preparing with these challenges in mind, we are also preparing in the same way. These challenges are in our minds too. We are ready to address them. We will take all necessary measures.”

When asked if law and order will be a barrier to the election, Nasir Uddin said: “I think we are preparing for the election. For a free, fair, and credible election— I believe law and order will not be a problem.”