Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder has accused the outgoing EC of being undisciplined, fraudulent, and biased.
"Today the democracy of our country is lying like a corpse. The right to caste vote is similar to human rights. When that right is taken away from citizens, democracy is doomed," he said while reading out a written statement during a media call separate from the other members of the outgoing commission yesterday.
Talukder did not attend the media briefing by the rest of the commission.
Responding to queries on his initiatives against the alleged malpractices of the EC, Talukder said: "I was a minority in this commission. I still tried to speak on behalf of the weak and oppressed demographic who needed the power to cast votes to decide their fate.”
The Election Commission has failed to address allegations of irregularities and partiality against polls officials, he added.
“Most complaints were recorded but not acted on, while many others were not recorded at all,” the outgoing election commissioner claimed.
Commissioner Talukder, who disagreed with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on a wide range of issues, has rarely addressed the media over the past few months. He usually reads out a written statement and does not take any questions.
He decided to take questions yesterday, the last day of the commission.
“I was not allowed to speak within the commission over the eleventh national election. I was told it was unconstitutional. I am one of the five and I lost as a minority while speaking for democracy,” said Talukder.
Responding to allegations that he was the spokesperson for BNP on the EC, Talukder said: “I first came to know about this from a media call by the cabinet secretary. Whenever I took a strong stance on anything, I found important people criticizing me of talking along the lines of the BNP. The problem is that I do not know BNP’s lines. Maybe those who make such remarks do know.”
In his written statement, Talukder said the recent Union Parishad polls had made it clear that democracy was missing from elections in the country.
“Violence and clashes over the elections were not expected. These polls at the grassroots have ensured that the violence will continue. One might even ask if an election is really an election if candidates get elected unopposed," he said.
He added that a law on the formation of the EC would only be acceptable if it had the backing of all political parties.
Talukder also warned of the growing influence of businessmen in politics.
On February 5, the government issued a gazette notification announcing a six-member search committee headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, a judge of the Appellate Division, to form the next Election Commission (EC).
The other members of the search committee are High Court Division Judge S M Quddus Zaman, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Chairman of Public Service Commission Sohorab Hossain, former election commissioner Mohammed Sohul Hossain and Professor of Bangla literature Anwara Syed Haq.
The committee had received over 300 names from 24 registered political parties and six organizations of professionals as of Friday.
On Sunday, the committee extended the deadline for submission of names to 5pm on Monday and urged the BNP to post names as well.
The BNP was among the parties that did not come to President Md Abdul Hamid’s talks on the formation of the EC and did not send names to the committee as well.
The search committee was supposed to publish all the names it had received on Monday evening.
Justice Obaidul Hassan had said that they would disclose all the names regardless of how many.
Sources at the Cabinet Division said only the names of the suggested candidates would be disclosed, and not the names of those who nominated them.