DHAKA, 1 February 2007 — Bangladesh’s five widely-criticized top election officials resigned yesterday following efforts by the country’s new caretaker government to end months of political deadlock and pave the way for free and fair polls.
The five had been at the center of a row over alleged vote rigging, which resulted in national elections, originally scheduled for Jan. 22, being canceled.
The private NTV television channel said the five resigned during a meeting with President Iajuddin Ahmed. One of the five officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the resignations.
The president on Jan. 11 decided to cancel the elections, step down as head of the interim government and impose a state of emergency. Bangladesh had for months been gripped by repeated protests by the main opposition Awami League, which accused the election commission of seeking to rig the polls in favor of the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
A new caretaker government has now taken over and pledged to carry out a string of reforms including reconstituting the election commission to ensure that fresh polls are fair and credible.
Interim Cabinet member Mainul Hossain said three new election commissioners had already been selected.
“The new commissioners will now start work to bring changes in the country’s electoral laws and system and also prepare the ground for the next elections,” he told AFP. “The government wants an election free from black money and corruption,” he added, speaking to reporters. He said he hoped the resignation of the five commissioners, including the acting Chief Election Commissioner Mahfuzur Rahman, would bring an end to the problems of the past few months.
In addition to a complete overhaul of the election commission, other planned reforms include the introduction of transparent ballot boxes, identity cards and the depoliticization of the civil service.
Some 33,000 arrests by the army and police have also targeted alleged “corruptionists and godfathers.” The army is widely seen as having directed events from behind the scenes, reportedly demanding that the new caretaker government clean up political life in the embattled democracy and ensure that the next polls are credible.
Its intervention came after the United Nations threatened it with the loss of lucrative and prestigious peacekeeping duties unless credible elections were held.
The opposition Awami League and its allies launched a massive campaign last year to highlight claims that the election commission had drawn up a voter list containing at least 14 million fake voters.
