DHAKA, 2 November 2006 — Bangladesh’s chief election commissioner says he has been asked to stay on to oversee next year’s poll, raising the specter of renewed violence after the former opposition accused him of bias.
The 14-party alliance of former opposition parties says Chief Election Commissioner M.A. Aziz backed the previous Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government and would attempt to rig the January general election.
“The president has asked me to carry on, and take necessary steps to hold a free and fair election within the stipulated time,” Aziz told reporters late on Tuesday.
The opposition has welcomed the sacking of two controversial police and security officials but said more would have to go, singling out the chief election commissioner.
“We have reiterated that we will not take part in any elections supervised by the current chief election commissioner,” Awami League Secretary-General Abdul Jalil told reporters yesterday. “The chief election commissioner and his deputies must go. There will be no compromise on this issue,” he added.
“It is the responsibility of the president to ensure a fair and free election by accepting the demands immediately,” Awami League leader Hasina Wajed said in a statement.
Hasina and her allies have given Iajuddin until tomorrow to prove his neutrality. “Otherwise, we will go back to the streets,” Jalil said. Iajuddin, who installed himself as caretaker head on Sunday after the political parties failed to agree on a candidate, has already sacked or transferred 27 senior bureaucrats.
“The country still faces a potential threat of renewed violence as the Awami League is trying to push too many demands in a bid to win the election. The government may find it difficult to accommodate them all,” said Ataur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Political Science Association. On Tuesday the president appointed 10 advisers to ministerial roles, including former army and police chiefs and a newspaper editor.
“They are all nonpartisan and efficient and we hope they can conduct a credible election,” BNP Secretary-General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan told reporters yesterday.
The caretaker authority replaced Prime Minister Khaleda Zia whose five-year mandate ended last Friday.
The interim government, meanwhile, held its first meeting yesterday. The chief of the caretaker government and his ten advisers stressed the importance of law and order after several days of violent clashes between rival political party activists that left 23 dead and more than 2,000 injured.
“The council of advisers has ordered all concerned officials to improve law and order and bring confidence among the people,” said a statement issued by the new temporary administration. “They discussed the necessary steps they would take to combat anarchy, lawlessness and indiscipline in the country,” the statement added.
Officials also announced a major reshuffle of police chiefs appointed by the outgoing government, in a move seen as an attempt to appease the main opposition Awami League and its 13 leftist allies. The caretaker government, whose advisers have the rank of minister, is mandated by the constitution to oversee fair elections, set for January.
“If we get any concrete suggestions that a particular official can influence the election process and result, the caretaker head has directed us to scrutinize the suggestion and take immediate action against such officials,” said A.F.M Solaiman Chowdhury, secretary of the establishment ministry, which oversees personnel changes.
