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Fight or farce?

147 JS seats await formality in one-sided Jan 5 elections

SHAKHAWAT LlTON and WASIM BIN HaBIB
The January 5 pollingnow appears nothingbut just aformality.
This election has already denied more than half of the electorate numbering 9.19 crore their voting rights as 153 candidates in their constituencies were elected unopposed. And the polling on January 5 for the remaining 147 seats has curbed their right to elect representatives through the ballot as they were left with little choice between candidates and parties.
information gathered about the contestants and parties suggests the polling is going to a stage-managed battle of ballots between the contenders nominated by the ruling Awami League and some of its allies, which havelitde electoral strength.
A boycott by the BNP-led opposition alliance and other parties has made this election one-sided, burying competitiveness, a fundamental element of democracy. Voters and candidates for the remaining 147 seats have lost interest in it.
The way the government and the ruling party are manoeuvring this election has only exposed their desperation to hold the polls in the interest of what they claimed upholding democracy.
HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party was kept forcibly in die battle of ballots. Ershad was reportedly kept confined to a hospital for more than two weeks for his rigidity about boycotting the election. So for 20 candidates from his party have been elected unopposed as the AL withdrew its candidates for those seats. Some of his party leaders are electioneering after the AL withdrew its own candidates in those constituencies to give them a walkover in the battle.
Candidates from the Workers Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, two key allies of the AL-led alliance, and Jatiya Party-led by Anwar Hossain Manju, an adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, are in the electoral race with their own polls symbols, with little hope of winning any seat. Their presence has become necessary for the competition; otherwise candidates in many other constituencies will be elected unopposed.
More than 100 independent candidates, many of them belonging to the AL, are in the race. But most of them may not be able to perform well against the strong candidates nominated and supported by ruling party.
The AL-nominated 127 candidates were elected unopposed and almost all of its remaining 119 candidates are set to win easily in the same number of constituencies. So the party looks all set to have a two-thirds majority in this election to form the new government any time after
completion of the formalities of polling on January 5.
Yet the Election Commission is taking all preparations to complete formalities which may cost the public exchequer around Tk 300 crore.
Around three lakh polling officials were recruited to conduct voting at 18,123 polling stations in 59 districts. Polling will not be held at all in five districts as all the seats have had their representatives elected unopposed.
Alongside around 50,000 members of the armed forces, members of almost all regular law enforcement agencies will be deployed to maintain law and order to ensure a peaceful atmosphere on January 5 for voters.
This election has sparked violent agitation by the opposition parties, resulting in huge damage to public property, the economy and boundless sufferings for people. The political situation is set to turn further volatile, causing more damage and public suffering with the BNP-led opposition enforcing an indefinite countrywide blockade to resist the polls.