It didn't have to be this way and it should never be this way.
For the most part the Dhaka-17 by-election went off without incident. There were a few isolated incidents and allegations of polling agents being harassed and obstructed, but widespread violence and voting irregularities that we have seen over the years in previous elections was not reported.
Until 3PM.
This is when independent opposition candidate Ashraful Hossen Alom, popularly known as Hero Alom, was not only obstructed from entering the Banani Bidyaniketan School and College polling centre, but was subsequently physically attacked and then chased, despite the presence of law enforcement personnel.
All, we should add, in full view of the public and the press.
As expected, there once again is finger pointing with regard to who should be blamed for this shameful attack, but the facts are clear: A candidate for these elections was attacked and law personnel being there were unable to take the appropriate actions necessary to ensure his protection and safety.
While it has been good to see Election Commissioner Md Alamgir as well as the ruling party candidate Mohammad Arafat both swiftly condemn the attack, and security personnel moving swiftly to detain potential culprits, we must do a better job of ensuring that our elections are safe as well as free.
One can imagine that this is the last thing the PM, the ruling party, and the ruling party candidate wanted to happen. With all eyes on the AL to demonstrate that they could hold a free and fair election, this kind of hooliganism does nothing but call their ability to do so into question.
Until this incident, the elections had been relatively peaceful and uncontroversial. The voter turnout was low but there were no reports of people being unable to cast their vote nor any issues reported with the vote tabulation process.
If not for this outrage, the ruling party could have pointed to the by-election as an example of how to conduct polls in a healthy environment. Now it seems we will be back to square one. No one wins when this kind of violence is unleashed, least of all the Bangladeshi people.
While we welcome the full investigation that has been promised, it is simply not enough to reactively take action when something of this magnitude occurs.
The authorities concerned must do a much better job of ensuring candidate safety. If candidates cannot be kept safe, then how can the voting public feel secure enough to cast their votes.
It is the bare minimum that any potential political leader can expect, not to mention the general public, who want to see safe and fair elections to take Bangladesh forward, not backward.
