SY Quraishi, former chief election commissioner of India, has said he believes that the Election Commission of Bangladesh can hold free and fair polls.
The commission held a meeting with nine representatives, including election commissioners of India, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal and Election Monitoring Forum, at Nirbachan Bhabn in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Sunday. Quraishi’s comment to reporters came after that meeting.
“The Bangladesh Election Commission has all the powers to make an election free and fair. I see no reason not to trust them. Some of the past elections have been one-sided, and there may be a question about their acceptance because of this,” Quraishi said.
“I think that the Election Commission of Bangladesh has all the powers that the Election Commission of India has.”
“The Election Commission of India functions like a caretaker government during elections. After the announcement of election schedules, the commission holds all the powers. There is no prime minister or chief minister. No one can take any decision without the Election Commission’s permission.
“The Election Commission of India renders the ruling government ineffective; they cannot undertake any new scheme or replace anyone. This increases public confidence in the Election Commission.,” the former Indian chief election commissioner explained.
