Making A Burlesque Of The Ballot

바카라 웹사이트There was no visible sign of electioneering anywhere in the suburb. Inside the school compound the atmosphere was even duller. Only 10 voters were seen standing in front of the male booth. They were far outnumbered by members of the law enforcement agencies. The effect of the journalists' presence was electric. In a matter of minutes, while the journalists talked with the presiding officer, at least 40 people appeared out of the blue and started queuing up. Some of them were members of Ansar, an auxiliary force called out to help run the election smoothly.

바카라 웹사이트Inside the polling booth, some young men, mostly in their late teens, were seen fiddling with the ballots in the presence of the presiding officer. They claimed to be the polling agents of the 10 candidates who were in the race. But when asked to name any opposition candidate apart from the ruling party's, the 'agents' sheepishly looked at each other and failed to reply.

바카라 웹사이트Despite such mockery in the name of elections and the visible absence of any real voters, officially nearly 6,000 voters had already cast their votes within two hours. Asked to explain the phenomenon, the presiding officer, a tax collector from the Dhaka city corporation, who was seconded for election duty, immediately started fumbling.

바카라 웹사이트Such scenes were repeated in every polling centre in Dhaka the four journalists visited during the course of the day. Reports from elsewhere in the country also portrayed more or less the same scenario. Yet Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, in her first post-election news conference on February 18, claimed the voters had defied the opposition call for a boycott and turned out in large numbers.

바카라 웹사이트Had there been no intimidation from the opposition, she said, the turnout would have been far higher. She, however, failed to give her own assessment of the number of votes polled.

바카라 웹사이트Although she acknowledged that it was low in some parts of Dhaka, the voting was termed "brisk and the turnout impressive" in the rest of the country. Asked how it could happen amidst widespread violence, in which at least 15 persons were killed and more than 2,000 injured, Zia failed to give any convincing reply.

바카라 웹사이트She also dismissed charges of malpractice and irregularities such as stuffing of ballot boxes and tampering with voting powers by the ruling party. Instead the Prime Minister, looking nervous and shaky, accused the opposition activists of any such malpractice.

바카라 웹사이트Asked how opposition activists could enter polling centres and commit such irregularities despite the presence of security forces, Zia fumbled but still insisted that it was "their" work, designed to discredit the election. She also blasted the members of the press, both foreign and local, for being "irresponsible" in their reporting. In an effort to put up a brave face, she dismissed the opposition demand for the resignation as "ridiculous", claiming that she had received a fresh mandate from the people. In the absence of all the main opposition parties, including the Awami League, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is almost certain to bag almost all the seats.

On the surface, as revealed by the election results, there is not an iota of doubt that the Prime Minister has indeed got the mandate. Of the 300 seats which were contested, the BNP has won 207, while the results of 93 seats were withheld for re polling or recounting of votes amidst allegations of massive fraud.

바카라 웹사이트BUT the question now being asked is whether the huge majority in the one-party election could play any significant role in resolving the political crisis that has dogged this country for nearly 23 months. Not to speak of independent analysts, Zia herself sounded sceptical. "As I told you before," she said, "this election was necessary to maintain constitutional consistency. From now on we'll try to create an environment in which all parties can take part in the next election. To that end we'll resume our efforts to bring the opposition to the negotiating table for a meaningful solution to the crisis."

Although she did not elaborate, she gave a broad hint that she was prepared to discuss the opposition demand for a neutral caretaker government to oversee future elections. But the chances for a negotiated settlement look extremely remote. The opposition has decided not to go for any negotiation with what it calls "an illegitimate government".바카라 웹사이트

바카라 웹사이트After this farcical election," said Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League chief, "this government has lost its legitimacy and hence we cannot hold any discussion with them." She has demanded fresh elections within 90 days under a caretaker government and has asked her supporters to enforce a series of bandhs and hartals, including a three-day 'civil disobedience' right after Id. "Everything will be shut and nothing will move," she said. She has also asked other nations not to recognise the new government as the election was "illegal".

바카라 웹사이트While ordering its employees to ignore the strike call and report for work, the government has beefed up security at major offices and banks, which were attacked in pre-poll violence. Air, sea and rail traffic is also likely to be severely disrupted.

The low voter turnout, widely believed to be between 3 per cent and 10 per cent, does not necessarily render an election illegitimate as the Constitution is not specific about this aspect. But the constitutional legitimacy notwithstanding, independent observers feel that the extremely low turnout has dealt a severe blow to the BNP's moral authority to govern.

바카라 웹사이트The lack of a popular mandate this time is almost certain to embolden the combined opposition in bolstering its antigovernment movement. Bereft of the mandate which they received in 1991—considered to be the cleanest in Bangladesh's history—the BNP will now find it hard to fight the opposition with same vigour and spirit. For instance, in a statement, 105 teachers and professors of Dhaka University have described the election as a "farce" and said the Zia government had lost all legitimacy and the moral right to rule.

바카라 웹사이트In an effort to end the impasse, American President Bill Clinton is sending Congressman Bill Richardson to Dhaka by February-end. Richardson, who has negotiated several international disputes on behalf of the US earlier, will meet top government and opposition leaders during his two-day visit.

But as the standoff between the two sides further heats up, it is the country and the people who will be the worst sufferers. The protracted confrontation has already begun to wipe out the modest economic gains Bangladesh has made since the reform programmes were undertaken nearly five years ago.

In less than a year the foreign exchange reserve has dropped to $2.3 billion from an impressive $3.4 billion; inflation, which was less than 3 per cent, is now approaching 10 per cent; and the prospect of foreign investment looks bleaker than before. Most alarming, of course, is the future of the garment industry, which has been hit by frequent hartals and export deadlines which could not be met. The industry in recent years has become the largest foreign exchange earner, accounting for more than 62 per cent of the country's total export earning. The Bangladesh Aid Consortium, which normally meets in Paris in April every year, has already informed Dhaka that the meeting is being postponed indefinitely in view of the political instability. "

This is an untenable situation," said Wahiduddin Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Economic Association and a professor at Dhaka University. The people, caught between an irresponsible opposition and an incompetent and intransigent government, he said, are desperately looking for an escape route. Sadly, there is none visible at the moment