Congratulations to Monirul Haque Sakku for winning the Comilla City Corporation election.
Amid fears of bias within the Election Commission, it is heartening to see that a BNP-backed candidate has clinched the mayoral position.
The EC deserves to be congratulated for holding this fair and credible election.
Ruling party Awami League also deserves kudos for playing fair.
Hopefully, the Comilla election will not prove to be a one-time phenomenon, but rather a sign of the good health of our current EC.
The truth is, our electoral system has been broken for some time, and we have no choice but to fix it to save our democracy.
Comilla showed us that we can move in the right direction. Now we need to continue down this path.
It is imperative that the EC never give in to bullying, and never abuses its power if it is to truly change the culture of partisanship we have seen in past years.
Our political culture is still rife with mistrust and accusations, and the Comilla mayoral election has not been without controversy.
A legitimate political process is indeed possible in Bangladesh, but for that to happen, the EC must never abuse its power, and must gain public confidence through holding fair elections at all levels like the one we have just witnessed.
We need to turn over a new leaf, and political will on part of the government is essential.
Comilla shows that the will is there, and that it can be done. Let’s not deviate from this promising start for the new EC.
