‘My absence was irrelevant’

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has said his absence had nothing to do with the escalation of violence in the last three phases of the Upazila polls.

After announcing the schedule for the sixth phase of the Upazila elections at the EC Media Centre on Wednesday, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad explained what kept him away for a month and a half.

Ahmad left the country after the second phase of the local body polls. There was a sharp rise in violence in the three subsequent phases, for which the CEC attracted criticisms from many quarters.

File Photo

“Why should we take the blame for the violence and disorder? Blame the people who committed the crimes. Legal action will be taken against them,” he said.

A desperate desire to win had fuelled the violence, he observed.

He said a long disruption of the country’s democratic process had come in the way of changing people’s attitudes.

“This has nothing to do with the presence or absence of the CEC.”

Ahmad said political parties were entitled to their criticism.

“Whether the ruling party or the opposition, they are entitled to criticise the EC,” he said.

He explained his absence from Mar 3 to Apr 13, saying he was on personal leave but also did some official work.

“It’s a simple matter. I don’t take leave from anyone, I approve my own leave. It’s an issue because you’re making it one,” he said.

He blamed the candidates’ intolerance, desperation for victory, and aggression for the violence marring the polls.

“I left after the first two phases. We had already formulated the plans for all the phases. So there was nothing new to be done. The rest of the polls had to be conducted as usual,” he said.

Ahmad said the violence that occurred despite precautions were isolated incidents.
He hoped such infringements would die out with a culture of bowing to people’s verdicts taking shape in future.

He said he had monitored the votes from the US in much same way he did while in the country. “I was constantly in touch with senior police officers and the EC,” he added.

“The distance was not an issue,” he said.

He said there had been trouble in some places despite the presence of the army, police and BGB.

“We took the highest security measures. It would have made no difference if we were to deploy the air force as well. People’s propensity for violence must change. Penalties have to be imposed and legal reforms made,” he suggested.

He hoped probes and punitive measures together with the EC’s efforts to curb rigging would rid polls of violence in future.

Ahmad told reporters the EC was planning to discuss legal reforms with political parties, based on the lessons learnt from the Upazila polls.

The CEC took questions from reporters for at least 45 minutes.