keeping off union parishad elections

Smaller parties blame muscle power of bigger parties

Can't help if parties don't join elections, says EC

Many political parties are not participating in the ongoing Union Parishad (UP) elections, as they feel that fair polls are not possible under the present system where powerful parties dominate and use of money and muscle power is common. Some party leaders said that they are afraid of fielding their candidates, as it requires a lot of money; besides, they are also not strong enough to counter the ongoing poll related violence. Some leaders said that they are not nominating their party candidates because they are in the Alliance and cannot go against the Alliance decision. Around 20 BNP-led Alliance party leaders said that when BNP candidates are unable to cope with the ruling party candidates, they don’t want to risk their lives by fielding their candidates.
There are 40 registered political parties with the Election Commission, but on an average, 10-12 political parties are fielding their candidates in the ongoing UP polls. Out of the 10-12 parties, only the ruling Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have fielded the highest number of candidates in the elections and nominations of other parties are insignificant.
The Election Commission (EC) sources have said that they are not responsible if political parties do not sponsor candidates for the UP polls as there is no legal obligation in this regard. It is the party’s decision, they observed.
The EC will complete the over 4,500 UP polls in six phases. It has already completed two phases and polling for the third phase in over 600 UPs will be held on April 23 where the main competition will be between AL and BNP. The UP elections have been a witness to the phenomenon of a number of candidates being elected unopposed. In the first phase, 62 candidates were elected uncontested, in the second 33 and, in the third phase, 25 candidates have been declared elected from the ruling party.
Even the EC changed the poll schedule for all the 49 UPs in 10 Upazilas of Rangamati district from the third phase to the sixth to ensure participation of candidates of the main political parties.
Despite there being enough candidates in the UPs, many political parties are not fielding their candidates as they fear unfair election practices. “We did not field candidates for two reasons: first, we have to see the interest of the BNP-led Alliance and, secondly, we have to consider how smaller parties will stand when BNP candidates are failing to put up a fight in the present political situation,” Chairman of Bangladesh Kolyan Party, Major General (Retd) Sayed Mohammad Ibrahim, told The Independent yesterday. “Though we have the opportunity to field candidates at the grassroots level, we will not be able to stand against big parties,” he added.
Chairman of Islami Front Bangladesh, Sayed Bahadur Shah mujaddedi, said, “The candidates will be inspired to contest in the polls only when elections are held in a fair manner.” He further said that the candidates are also not willing to participate by spending their own money, because they know that it will be difficult to win the uneven contest.
“We are a part of the 20-Party Alliance. It’s wise to remain under the collective decision of the Alliance. Besides, due to incidents of poll-related violence, we did not field any candidate,” Acting President of Bangladesh Muslim League, Advocate Sheikh Julfikar Bulbul Chowdhury, told The Independent yesterday. He added that his party has taken a wise political decision by not nominating candidates in the UP polls and his party would appear before the people when the time is right. However, they did have a chance to appear before the people with their party symbol by participating in the polls.
President of Bangladesh Nationalist Front, SM Abul Kalam Azad, said, “When the old political parties are failing to win the polls, how can our new party win? Though we could not file enough candidates, we will be in the race. We have to participate in the polls to keep the democratic process going.”
President of Gonotontri Party, Barrister Md Arash Ali, said, “We don’t have enough money to contest the polls as the elections have become a game of money and muscle power. So, we did not field any candidate.”
In this scenario, only a handful of political parties are participating in the polls. “A political party registers with the EC after fulfilling certain conditions laid down by law. But there is no legal compulsion for the EC to ensure that all parties participate in elections,” EC Secretary, Md Sirajul Islam, told The Independent yesterday. “It is an individual decision of the political parties whether they want to participate in the polls or not. The EC has no role in it,” he added.
Election expert and Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, Badiul Alam Majumder, said, “The Local Government polls are being held under mainly two symbols – ‘Boat’ of Awami League and ‘Sheaf of Paddy’ of BNP. There is no chance for other parties here.” He also said that the participation of all parties in the polls is necessary, but it is quite absent in the Local Government polls. “The small political parties that are not participating in the polls have no future,” he added.
This is the first time that the UP polls are being held under political banners. But most of the parties have failed to nominate their candidates.
In the last two phases of polls on March 22 and March 31, over 40 people were killed and several hundreds were injured.

keeping off union parishad elections

Smaller parties blame muscle power of bigger parties

Cant help if parties dont join elections, says EC

Many political parties are not participating in the ongoing Union Parishad (UP) elections, as they feel that fair polls are not possible under the present system where powerful parties dominate and use of money and muscle power is common. Some party leaders said that they are afraid of fielding their candidates, as it requires a lot of money; besides, they are also not strong enough to counter the ongoing poll related violence. Some leaders said that they are not nominating their party candidates because they are in the Alliance and cannot go against the Alliance decision. Around 20 BNP-led Alliance party leaders said that when BNP candidates are unable to cope with the ruling party candidates, they dont want to risk their lives by fielding their candidates. There are 40 registered political parties with the Election Commission, but on an average, 10-12 political parties are fielding their candidates in the ongoing UP polls. Out of the 10-12 parties, only the ruling Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have fielded the highest number of candidates in the elections and nominations of other parties are insignificant. The Election Commission (EC) sources have said that they are not responsible if political parties do not sponsor candidates for the UP polls as there is no legal obligation in this regard. It is the partys decision, they observed. The EC will complete the over 4,500 UP polls in six phases. It has already completed two phases and polling for the third phase in over 600 UPs will be held on April 23 where the main competition will be between AL and BNP. The UP elections have been a witness to the phenomenon of a number of candidates being elected unopposed. In the first phase, 62 candidates were elected uncontested, in the second 33 and, in the third phase, 25 candidates have been declared elected from the ruling party. Even the EC changed the poll schedule for all the 49 UPs in 10 Upazilas of Rangamati district from the third phase to the sixth to ensure participation of candidates of the main political parties. Despite there being enough candidates in the UPs, many political parties are not fielding their candidates as they fear unfair election practices. We did not field candidates for two reasons: first, we have to see the interest of the BNP-led Alliance and, secondly, we have to consider how smaller parties will stand when BNP candidates are failing to put up a fight in the present political situation, Chairman of Bangladesh Kolyan Party, Major General (Retd) Sayed Mohammad Ibrahim, told The Independent yesterday. Though we have the opportunity to field candidates at the grassroots level, we will not be able to stand against big parties, he added. Chairman of Islami Front Bangladesh, Sayed Bahadur Shah mujaddedi, said, The candidates will be inspired to contest in the polls only when elections are held in a fair manner. He further said that the candidates are also not willing to participate by spending their own money, because they know that it will be difficult to win the uneven contest. We are a part of the 20-Party Alliance. Its wise to remain under the collective decision of the Alliance. Besides, due to incidents of poll-related violence, we did not field any candidate, Acting President of Bangladesh Muslim League, Advocate Sheikh Julfikar Bulbul Chowdhury, told The Independent yesterday. He added that his party has taken a wise political decision by not nominating candidates in the UP polls and his party would appear before the people when the time is right. However, they did have a chance to appear before the people with their party symbol by participating in the polls. President of Bangladesh Nationalist Front, SM Abul Kalam Azad, said, When the old political parties are failing to win the polls, how can our new party win? Though we could not file enough candidates, we will be in the race. We have to participate in the polls to keep the democratic process going. President of Gonotontri Party, Barrister Md Arash Ali, said, We dont have enough money to contest the polls as the elections have become a game of money and muscle power. So, we did not field any candidate. In this scenario, only a handful of political parties are participating in the polls. A political party registers with the EC after fulfilling certain conditions laid down by law. But there is no legal compulsion for the EC to ensure that all parties participate in elections, EC Secretary, Md Sirajul Islam, told The Independent yesterday. It is an individual decision of the political parties whether they want to participate in the polls or not. The EC has no role in it, he added. Election expert and Secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, Badiul Alam Majumder, said, The Local Government polls are being held under mainly two symbols Boat of Awami League and Sheaf of Paddy of BNP. There is no chance for other parties here. He also said that the participation of all parties in the polls is necessary, but it is quite absent in the Local Government polls. The small political parties that are not participating in the polls have no future, he added. This is the first time that the UP polls are being held under political banners. But most of the parties have failed to nominate their candidates. In the last two phases of polls on March 22 and March 31, over 40 people were killed and several hundreds were injured.