Municipality polls not free and fair: Sujan

Sushasoner Jonno Nagarik (Sujan), an organisation monitoring good governance and the establishment of democracy said that the recent municipality polls were not free and fair as it did not fulfill the criteria required for a credible election.

The criteria include—transparent and accurate electoral roll, freedom of all aspirants to contest in the polls, multiple candidates, a congenial atmosphere for voters to exercise their franchise without fear and transparent and fair voting system, Sujan said.

While addressing a press conference on 'Municipal election: What kind of mayors we have got' Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Sujan  said "Analyzing the overall scenario, it appears that the municipality polls did not fulfill the criteria cited, hence we can then say that the polls were not held in a free and fair manner" at Dhaka Reporters Unity.  

The elections of 235 municipalities were held between December 30 last year to January 12, 2016 for which Shujan prepared a statement with information on 233 newly elected mayors on the basis of their affidavits submitted before the elections, while the affidavits for two mayors were not available, said Shujan at the press conference.

The municipality elections were held with 'faulty and incomplete' electoral roll. Many of the aspirants were forced to quit the electoral race, voters in many places could not cast their votes and the voting and counting systems were not credible and transparent in many places, the statement said.

On average 72.93 votes were cast in the polls. 5 municipalities had 90 percent vote casted and over 80 percent were cast in 74 municipalities. Experienced election observers term such high vote casting rate 'unbelievable', according to the statement.

The quality of the electoral system has been declining since January 5 parliamentary election in 2014, and subsequently upazila elections in 2014 and city corporation elections in Dhaka and Chittagong last year, a written statement of Shujan.  

"The declining quality of the electoral system had continued in the recent municipality polls.... If the flaws cannot be corrected, the entire electoral system may be collapsed," the statement said.

Citing collected information on the newly elected mayors, the statement said, around 79.48 percent mayors are businessmen. It indicates a trend for wealthy people's participation and influence in the elections is rising.

Alarmingly, 22.74 percent of the mayors are accused in different cases while only 40.77 percent completed graduation, according to the statement.

Addressing the press conference, Shujan president M Hafiz Uddin Khan said the government should have included other political parties and stakeholders before holding local government polls within partisan lines.