Dhaka, May 1 (IANS) The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh stated on Thursday that it will not consider the recommendation to disqualify individuals and fugitives indicted in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) from contesting in the upcoming election as ‘immediately implementable’. Without mentioning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or her Awami League party, the constitutional body said that it believes that a political consensus is required to determine the eligibility and ineligibility of an individual for election.
Last month, the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh forwarded several recommendations of the electoral system reform committee to the EC, marking them as “immediately implementable”. The commission was asked to inform how much time is required to implement them and whether there is financial involvement in it.
The EC, reported Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo on Thursday, does not think that all the recommendations listed in the cabinet division letter are immediately implementable barring only those which do not involve political controversy or financial involvement.
On Wednesday, the EC sent its opinion to the Cabinet Division on the immediate implementation proposals of the Reform Commission.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Sanaullah said that the EC is set to recommend a set of electoral reforms to the government that are above political debate and can be implemented without delay, as they do not require political consensus.
In March, the EC had expressed its disagreement with the National Consensus Commission on at least 28 recommendations of the Reform Commission, including the recommendation to ‘prevent persons declared as fugitives by the court from becoming candidates’. They said that if this provision is made, it can be used for malicious purposes.
Following the ouster of Hasina last August, several attempts were made by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to keep her and the Awami League away from participating in national elections.
Yunus-led interim government has also issued several arrest warrants against the former PM, her family members, and Awami League supporters after coming to power.
Recently, Bangladesh requested Interpol to issue a ‘red notice’ against former PM Hasina and 11 others in connection with a case alleging conspiracy to overthrow the Yunus-led interim government.
Several political forces who worked hand in glove with the Yunus-led interim government to overthrow the former democratically elected government of Hasina have been demanding a ban on Awami League from contesting in the upcoming elections.
However, any ban on the Awami League will go against the United Nations directive of not banning any political party from participating in the elections. “Refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multiparty democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate,” said a fact-finding report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
–IANS
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