What Will the Election Commission Do If BNP Candidates Use Tarique Rahman’s Picture? NCP Raises Concerns

Following its registration, the National Citizen’s Party (NCP) has raised questions regarding the Election Commission’s (EC) ability to enforce the electoral code of conduct in its first dialogue with the commission. On Wednesday (19 November) morning, the party took part in a dialogue with seven registered political parties at the Election Commission office in Agargaon, Dhaka. The dialogue was attended by NCP’s Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, Senior Joint Secretary Tasnim Jara, and Joint Secretary Jahirul Islam Musa.

During the dialogue, Jahirul Islam raised the issue of Section 7 (c) of the code of conduct, referring to it as the Election Commission’s “first test.” He said, “The current leader of BNP is Begum Khaleda Zia. If any BNP candidate uses a photo of Tarique Rahman, the commission will have to apply the code of conduct on that candidate. This will be the test of the commission’s effectiveness.”

The NCP argues that the newly established electoral code of conduct for the 13th National Parliamentary Elections in February is not compatible with the electoral culture of Bangladesh. Jahirul Islam claimed that through this code, there has been an attempt to bypass the country’s long-standing electoral traditions. He remarked, “The code says banners must be made on cloth or jute. How many printing facilities exist for jute in the country? In remote areas, these facilities are even more limited.”

Regarding the issue of using soundboxes with a sound limit of 60 decibels, he raised questions, “Who will measure the sound? Where should complaints be filed? These issues are unclear.”

The NCP also raised concerns about the lack of clarity regarding actions to be taken if no EC officer takes action against violations of the code.

On the other hand, the NCP welcomed Sections 24 and 25 of the code, which provide for the reading of election manifestos and an announcement to abide by the code of conduct in the presence of all candidates after the allocation of election symbols. The NCP demanded that these provisions be made mandatory.

Jahirul Islam also proposed the addition of a new provision to prevent electoral violence: If a candidate’s party faces internal violence resulting in injury or death, the candidate’s nomination should be canceled.

Nasiruddin Patwary, the Chief Coordinator of the NCP, urged the Election Commission to maintain its neutrality, stating, “If the commission remains committed to the constitution and does not favor any political party, NCMP will extend full cooperation.”

The NCP also endorsed the proposal that candidates contesting as part of alliances should use their respective party symbols and urged the Election Commission to stand firm on this decision.

Khaborwala/SS