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Shouldn�t the CEC Resign ? (Part 1) Published on May 28, 2006
The Election commission is in a mess. And the main hero for bringing the commission to its brink is none but the chief election commissioner (CEC), the faceless justice M A Aziz himself with the aid of his two distinguished colleagues, the two newly appointed members of the commission, namely justice Mahfuzur Rahman and Mr. SM Zakaria, formerly secretary of the commission. Since the day justice Aziz, a sitting judge of Supreme Court of appellate division stepped in into the shoes of erstwhile CEC controversial Mr. Sadeq, our learned justice has been trying his utmost best to make the commission an obliging front organization of BNP and its copartners in the alliance government. As soon as the post of CEC fell vacant following the end of tenure of Mr. Sadeq, the main opposition party AL and 11 parties including Dr. Kamal Hosein�s Gana Forum demanded that this important office of the election commission (EC) be filled up by a widely respectable man whose neutrality and integrity are beyond doubt. The opposition and a large section of the civil society of the country opined that although it was the prerogative and privilege on the part of the government, the government should not do it unilaterally. They suggested that the person to occupy the seat of CEC should be chosen after due consultation with various shades of opinion on a general consensus basis. The government did open up dialogues with concerned parties, but all on a sudden it took a unilateral decision ignoring all other suggestions, and appointed Justice Aziz as CEC. It is alleged that his appointment is a consequence of his past association in different capacities with BNP. People cites some incidents of his association with BNP and the elements like that. As for example, while he was a sitting judge he publicly welcomed one of the influential cabinet ministers of BNP government and his wife in a public function in the locality of the justice. The incident invited criticism from many corners and helped diminishing his image as a justice of neutrality. He also gave births of some controversial judgment that created public criticisms and debates: He gave verdict in favour of closing down the popular TV broadcast known as �ETV�, allegedly to please Begum Khaleda; he declared the public safety act illegal framed during AL tenure; he called 3 distinguished editors and journalists to the court allegedly behaving with them in discourteous manner because those journalists published some �wrong information� (in his eye) about the court. Further to it, before he got appointment as the CEC he obtained a plot of land in Uttara from Khaleda government. The deal�s unwritten message was, �We helped you in your need, help us in our need�. Pic : A cartoon in Prothom-Alo, a leading Bangla Daily The appointment of justice Aziz as the CEC faced stiff opposition from the opposition, and they opined that his appointment (being known as pro-BNP man) would cause diminishing neutrality and independency of the election commission under his guidance, which would in turn hamper the process of holding free and fair election in the coming year. The later events proved the opposition points. However, after the appointment, he although announced in a press conference that he is committed to hold a free and fair election and commission would act as an independent organ, started doing many things that caused alarm in the opposition circles. He failed to win over the confidence of the opposition parties, especially the AL. As he joined the EC, he immediately came into clash with his two independent minded colleagues, EC AK Muhammad Ali and EC Munsef Ali who were staunch defendant of independence of election commission and other independent minded officials. He showed his favour to EC secretary Mr. SM Zakaria, who became his man of confidence on whom the CEC became dependent as his chief adviser. In order to how to �hold free and fair election� he invited the political parties for discussions. But apart from Ershad�s JP and BNP and its party alliances, the main opposition AL and other 11 parties including CPB, NAP and JSD did not respond to his invitation. Instead of trying to generate confidence of the political parties outside the ruling alliance, he continued his mission of holding discussions with large number of unknown so called �political parties� (not less one hundred !). Was the CEC kidding with the nation ? He even declared once that he would, if needed be, go ahead with formulation of mechanism of holding election even if AL or other opposition parties do not participate in it. He never tried to make EC a truly independent body and failed to design (he in fact did not intend to do) a system that would prevent governmental influence, intervention and interference. On the contrary although his actions as CEC brought controversy and inviting bad name for the EC he continued his policy to keep the government in good humour, especially to please the PM Begum Khaleda. Justice Aziz is a peculiar man, a thoroughly confused one as his behavior pattern steadily unfolded to the public. He has allergic reaction to meeting the press and journalists. Many a times he held press conference but refused to answer the questions thrown to him. He even pretended occasionally to be sick to avoid the press. On one occasion he fell ill to avoid a European Ambassadors intending to meet him and took shelter in BIRDEM. The practice of his getting sick on many critical moments evoked public humour and criticisms too.
Ignoring the demand of the opposition, he according to the advice of the BNP, BNP led alliance, the government and innumerable number of so called political parties, he announced that a new voters� list would be made under the supervision of EC, without taking into account of the existing list, prepared in 2000, and the databank already stored it the data base of EC�s computer system. His two colleagues, Mr. Munsef Ali and Mr. Mohammad Ali opposed his idea of making �a new list� suggesting that the existing voter list should form the basis which could be updated by bringing in new entrants and dropping the ineligible voters from the list and making use of the existing data base in the computer system. The two members even questioned if the database were not to be used why then this had been created with huge amount of public exchequer. They also warned him that if CEC went ahead with such move they would not be with him. But he acted more on the advice of the then secretary of the commission Mr. SM Zakaria, a known pro-BNP bureaucrat called as �rod of BNP� (BNP�s Lathi), who was later rewarded by the government as he made a full member of the commission, and took all steps to prepare a new voter list.
Decision of the CEC challenged at the High Court
Disgruntled AL immediately filed two separate writ petitions- (1) one through Mr. Abdul Jalil, MP, GS of AL and (2) the second through jointly Advocate Rahmat Ali & Mr. Asaduzzaman Nur, MP, challenging the unilateral action of the CEC �to go ahead with making the new voter list�, at the high court division on December 12, 2005. The learned HC bench constituted of justice MA Matin and Justice Rezaul Karim issued a show cause notice to the CEC - why EC�s action of preparing new voter list would not be declared illegal. Defying this high court order, the CEC officially launched the programme of preparing a fresh list of voters from January 1, 2006. The learned HC division in its unanimous verdict on January 4, 2006 asked CEC not to pursue the plan of making a new voter list, instead the verdict asked them to update the existing list prepared in 2000. In addition to it the learned HC bench issued 5 instructions to EC how to update the existing list: (i) According to law those who were not eligible to become voters e.g. dead persons, mentally defunct or disabled, lost citizenships, must be dropped from the list. (ii) Those citizens have attained the age of 18 years or above, must be enlisted. (iii) All important matters or matters leading to confusion or crisis must be resolved in a meeting of the full commission, not through notes or letters (iv) No enlisted voter could be dropped from the list on the plea that during collection of information the voter was not available. (v) The verdict of the writ petition must be circulated from the office of the Election Commission in the form of a full report through the media of newspapers.
In the meanwhile two new additional members, namely justice Mahfuzur Rahman and Mr. SM Zakaria joined the Commission, who strengthened the hand of the CEC. While Mr. Zakaria is know as BNP�s lathi, the Justice Mahfuzur Rahman was found to give sanctuary to a known BNP cadre with weapons during the �clean heart operation�. The AL and other oppositions treated this move on the part of the government as an evil plan to making EC a puppet body loyal to government and the 4-parties allied forming the government of Begum Khaleda or most obedient servicing tool of BNP led government.
Fig. 1 CEC Aziz and his two colleagues, three doctors of Voter list manipulation (Please insert Fig 1 of the attached files)
Being strengthened by his new colleagues, CEC instead of complying and executing the HC instructions decided to challenge the verdict of the HC in the appellate division of the Supreme Court and simultaneously decided to carry vigorously to complete his mission of making the new list before the supreme court business is over. The ulterior motive behind the move was to make the new voter list a fate accompli. Other two members (Mr. Munsef Ali and Mr. Mohammad Ali), however, in the meeting of the commission differed with the CEC and other two newly appointed members siding with the CEC urging upon the CEC to give effect to the verdict of the HC instead of going to the SC for appeal against the HC decision. The CEC on February 1, 2006 formally filed a leave to appeal with the supreme court the HC verdict, especially objecting on two points of the 5-fold instructions that the EC should prepare the list on the major basis of the existing electoral roll of the year 2000 AD, and that the EC should publish some salient points of the verdict in a report form in the media. Hearing of the appeal petition was however delayed because of illness of a justice and other matters.
In the meanwhile another matter developed. In a local TV channel in a discussion meeting between an AL leader Dr. Alauddin Ahmed and a BNP leader Nurul Islam Manir, MP some comments made about CEC invited the attention of the commission. The CEC through his lawyer filed another appeal on February 5, 2006 praying that his original appeal petition should be heard in a full bench with the presence all the justice. On 27th March in the hearing of the later appeal in presence of all the judges the bench wanted to know whether this appeal were an expression of no confidence in the division, and it decided to issue an order why a notice of contempt of the court would not be served against the CEC and Mr. Nurul Islam Munir. On the day of hearing (April 17, 2006) of the both the appeals filed by the CEC, the SC relived of both the CEC and Mr. Munir from allegation of contempt of the court, and granted the leave to appeal with date of hearing fixed on May 14, 2006. The SC appellate division however did not issue any stay order on HC verdict of January 4, 2006. Any sensible person would have postponed the process of making the fresh voter list waiting for the verdict of the SC.
But our redoubtable iron minded CEC is not made of ordinary flexible texture; he rather vigorously followed to complete the list with electronic speed by employing a large number of �information collecting volunteers� and officials. As I said earlier the ill motive of the CEC behind the move was to complete �the job� so that matter would look �fate accompli�, a clever and ill intention to influence the proceedings of the SC indirectly. The CEC even had the audacity to comment on the HC verdict and on its observations saying that he had never seen such observations from the higher court in his long ten years of his tenure as a justice. His colleague justice Mahfuzur Rahman went a step further when he passed a comment on the HC decision, �EC does not have to obey the High court directives�. How ill thinking judges they are, I myself cannot make of them. Are they foolish, or Jnan-Papi (one who commits sins willfully or consciously)?
Fig. 2 �I am just a Post Box, - the key is with the madam! (please insert Fig. 2 here)
Undaunted CEC published the so-called �new list of voters� (draft list) on May 3, 2006 giving three week�s time to the voters for rectification if there is any mistakes- like omissions of genuine voter names, duplication etc. �
The doctored Voter List
Very soon it was discovered that the list is full of mistakes, omission of lakhs of names of genuine voters, and most importantly it was deliberately filled with fake voter names exceeding the number to millions. How could it happen, one really gets perplexed. It was apparent that the list is a doctored one prepared with an obvious ill motive of keeping the parties now in government once again in the seat of state power. Should we call it a doctored voter list or should we nickname it as �Azizian Voter List�. On top of it, the voter lists were not available with ward commissioners� offices. Even it were available in some offices, the ward commission officers were not keen to show the lists. In some offices list names were displayed on the walls of the street adjacent to ward commission offices. On the next day it was found torn apart. Let us give some examples as illustrations how the list was manipulated to put some one in power. The some one is the BNP and its allies including the Jamat. An analysis of the published list reveals that this is an excellent piece of manipulation done very cleverly and skillfully.
The list recorded 9,13,14,000 (Nine crores thirteen lakhs fourteen thousand i.e. Ninety one million three hundred thousand) names as voters, an unbelievable figure indeed !
We will do little analysis on this figure and other aspects of the fake or doctored voter list.
(to be continued) Prof. Ajoy K. Roy, is a reputed scientist and human rights activist from Bangladesh. |
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