Turnout alone does not define participatory polls: EU observers

Chief observer says all relevant social and political groups must be included to call an election “participatory”

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has stressed that voter turnout is not the sole benchmark for a participatory election, as questions mounted over the absence of a major political party from the parliamentary race.

Chief Observer Ivars Ijabs addressed a press conference at a hotel in the capital on Saturday, noting that a truly inclusive process must involve all political and social groups.

The outcome of Thursday's election for 297 seats was announced, with a voter turnout of 59.44 percent.

Several reporters raised questions about whether the election could be considered “participatory” without the participation of the Awami League, a major political party of Bangladesh, which had been excluded from the electoral process.

Ijabs responded to these concerns, saying: "The question about excluding a certain political party from the political process. Let me formulate it like this: we are here to observe the elections. What we are interested in is the process of the elections.

“Transitional justice is an extremely painful and sensitive issue in many countries, including many European countries. But of course, elections are the way to move forward.”

“And of course what we have observed in these elections is that they have been hugely competitive and the choice presented to the voters with these 2,000 candidates has been considerable, considerable. And in this sense I think this is really a way forward for the Bangladesh democracy to go,” he added.

Ijabs addressed another question about voter turnout, pointing out that participation is not just about numbers.

He noted that historically, voter turnout in Bangladesh has fluctuated, and the latest result represents a middle ground in general terms. “We are not looking at turnout only as a number in terms of percentage,” he said, adding that many democracies, including those in Europe, are experiencing declining turnout, while in some countries it remains higher.

“This is a great concern for all democracies I have to say,” the chief observer said. “But what is important, this is not just about numbers. Turnout is very much also participation, and this is the answer to your question, is whether all relevant groups in society are taking part in the election and no one is excluded from participation.”

“And that's why, as I just said, well the participation in this sense really includes all political groups and all, all the social groups that have their interest to express in those elections. And in that sense I would say that the turnout is not the only thing to take into account when speaking about participatory elections,” he added.

Asked about women’s participation, he said: “This is really about civic equality when each and every Bangladeshi citizen can participate both as a voter and as a candidate…If we see here this imbalance, this is basically hurting the decision-making of the Bangladeshi people themselves.”

EU observers also monitored voting by minorities and the counting process.

Ijabs said there were no direct instances of fraud, though some irregularities were noted.

Complaints and appeals should be addressed according to legal procedures, he added.