The allegations against the Bangladesh Election Commission — full text
On December 14th, a letter was sent to the Bangladesh President by 42 prominent Bangladesh civil society figures. The letter called on the President to constitute the Supreme Judicial Council so that it could inquire into three specific allegations of financial irregularities, corruption and gross financial misconduct which they allege had been committed by members of the Election Commission. It also asks the President to request the state and other institutions to conduct preliminary investigations of other allegations of gross irregularities and misconduct, and (if appropriate) send their findings to the Supreme Judicial Council for further investigation.
Because of its public interest, we are publishing a translation of the text of the annex which sets out the allegations. Section 1 sets out alleged financial irregularities of the Election Commission. Section 2 sets out alleged irregularities in the national and other elections held by the election commission. Nurul Huda, the Chief Election Commissioner, has denied the allegations as “untrue, motivated and baseless”.
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Allegations of Gross Misconduct Against the Bangladesh Election Commission, Headed by Mr. KM Nurul Huda
Article 11 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh affirms, “The Republic shall be a democracy.” Elections mark the beginning of the democratic journey. Article 118 of our Constitution provides for an ‘independent’ Election Commission to hold free, fair and acceptable elections. Our Constitution has accorded inherent power to the Commission to perform its responsibilities independently.[1] The Parliament has also enacted a number of laws to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
Exercise of the constitutional powers by the Election Commission and the proper applications of the laws and regulations ensure credible elections, which are prerequisites for democratic governance. Controversial and voter-less elections, on the other hand, destroy democracy.[2] Fair and credible elections also depend on the Commission being free from financial irregularities and corruption. If the Commission is involved in dishonesty and violates laws or shows indifference in enforcing laws or indulges in bias or resorts to fraud, elections become fraudulent. Unfortunately, the present Election Commission has been resorting to these practices time and again and holding one fraudulent election after another. Consequently, the people have completely lost faith in this constitutional body, and on elections as a constitutional and peaceful means of transferring power. This is reflected in a colossal voter apathy — unwillingness of the voters in participating in elections. Clearly, fraudulent elections prevent peaceful transfer of power, giving rise to extra constitutional means of changing power, which cannot be acceptable to a well-meaning citizen.
The present Election Commission, headed by Mr. KM Nurul Huda, has already done irreparable harm to our electoral system and we are concerned that if it remains in office, our election and democratic system will be completely destroyed. In this situation, we feel that urgent actions must be taken against the Commission. To this end, we are raising the following allegations of gross misconduct against the Election Commission for the kind consideration of His Excellency, the President of Bangladesh:
1.0 Financial Irregularities, Corruption and Gross Financial Misconduct
1.1 Financial misconduct
The present Election Commission, headed by Mr. KM Nurul Huda, has been accused of various irregularities, corruption and financial misconduct in discharging their duties. According to an investigative report published in Prothom Alo (August 06, 2019), the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Commissioners took money — more than Tk. 2 crore — allocated for training without actually imparting training. They took this money by giving speeches as ‘special speakers’ prior to the Eleventh Parliamentary Election and the subsequent upazila elections. Apart from this, the then secretary of the Election Commission alone took 47 lakh taka as ‘course advisor’. The Election Commission allocated Tk. 61.25 crore for training during the parliamentary elections held on December 30, 2018. The amount allocated for training in the upazila elections was Tk. 61 crore 75 lakh. The investigation report noted,
“EC documents show that these officials, including the CEC, spoke at 520 venues in 18 days. Each training centre should have four ‘special speakers’. As a result, each ‘special speaker’ had to give speeches in at least 14 places each day. This was by no means possible. It is thus clear that the members of the Commission took the money without giving lectures. A panel of ‘special speakers’ was created by the Election Commission for training during the last parliamentary and upazila elections. It included 13 high-ranking officials of the Election Commission including the CEC. Tk. 48.33 crore was allocated for the training of presiding, assistant presiding and polling officers in the parliamentary elections. Nine ‘special speakers’ took Tk. 1 crore 4 lakh from the budgeted amount. As a result, each person received Tk. 11 lakh 55 thousand. In each of the 520 trainings, 4 ‘special speakers’ were shown to have been engaged.”[3]
According to the report, even though the ‘special speakers’ were absent from the training at the time of the upazila elections, they received a total honorarium of Tk. 43 lakh 10 thousand for each upazila.
Receiving money in exchange for anything other than the salary and allowances while holding constitutional positions is a clear violation of Article 147(3) of the Constitution, which is a gross misconduct. Such violations were ignored without proper and impartial investigations. We strongly feel that if the Supreme Judicial Council conducts the necessary investigation by summoning the relevant documents from the Election Commission, the Commission will be found guilty of committing gross misconduct.
1.2 Corruption in the recruitment process
On November 25, 2019, Mr. Mahbub Talukder, an Election Commissioner, alleged that the CEC was involved in irregularities amounting to Tk. 4 crore in staff recruitment. In a written statement, Commissioner Mr. Mahbub Talukder said:
“85,893 candidates took part in the recruitment test against 339 vacancies. A faculty of Dhaka University was given Tk 4 crore 8 lakh for setting questions and examining the answer scripts. Although the money was approved by the Chief Election Commissioner, the Commission did not have an accounting of how many examiners were paid. Even the members of the recruitment committee did not know about it. The EC Secretariat did not know anything about the examination and the type of questions set was also questionable.”[4]
The senior secretary of the EC Mr. Alamgir denied the allegations by saying,
“It is one hundred percent legal. The Constitution, laws, rules and regulations have been followed. There was no violation of law in this appointment.”[5]
We believe that the Chief Election Commissioner’s gross misconduct will be proven beyond doubt if an appropriate investigation is conducted by summoning the relevant documents from the Election Commission and Dhaka University regarding the recruitment process and the expenditures incurred.
1.3 Illegally using luxury vehicles
According to a report published in Bangladesh Pratidin on October 3, 2020, three election commissioners are illegally using 3 luxury cars. Commission officials informed Bangladesh Pratidin:
“The CEC and the election commissioners can use two vehicles each. Since their appointment, the CEC and election commissioners have been using a jeep and a private car. However, all the election commissioners were given new cars in July, but the three election commissioners have not yet returned the car they previously used. They are currently using three vehicles including the previous jeep.”[6]
In other words, although the Commission has allocated 2 vehicles for each of the commissioners, some commissioners have been using one extra vehicle, which is clearly a waste and misuse of public resources. It is a gross misconduct to waste state resources.
We humbly request His Excellency, the President, to constitute the Supreme Judicial Council, under Article 96 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, to investigate the above three allegations of gross misconduct. The Supreme Judicial Council has the necessary legal powers to summon the relevant documents, victims and witnesses to prove the allegations of gross misconduct. We firmly believe that the allegations of gross misconduct raised against the Election Commission will be substantiated if the Supreme Judicial Council is constituted and the Council is given the necessary instructions by His Excellency, the President. As a result, the Nurul Huda Commission will be removed, in accordance with Article 96(6) of the Constitution
2.0 Other Gross Misconduct and Irregularities
In addition to various irregularities, corruption and gross misconduct relating to financial matters, the present Election Commission has also committed other gross misconducts in holding elections under Article 119 of the Constitution, some examples of which include:
2.1 Gross misconduct and irregularities in the purchase and use of EVMs
Ignoring the negative experience of using EVM in different countries
The electronic voting machines (EVMs) is used to make the voting process faster and easier, although the EVM has been losing acceptance day by day in the global scene. From the experience of different countries, it can be observed that:
“Only four countries are currently using the EVM in their national elections. EVMs have been partially used in 11 countries and 11 more countries have discontinued using them after pilot projects. Even in developed countries like Britain, Germany and Italy, the use of EVMs was discontinued due to various complications.”[7]
Despite these negative experiences of other countries, the Bangladesh Election Commission decided to introduce EVMs in the 11th parliamentary elections.
Ignoring the views of the stakeholders
During the training of election officials of Barisal and Faridpur region on July 5, 2018, in response to questions of journalists, the CEC Mr. Nurul Huda said that if everyone supports the idea and have faith in the EVMs, then only EVMs will be used in some centres in the next national elections.[8] On November 14, 2018, about one month before the national elections, the main opposition alliance, the Jatiyo Oikko Front, wrote a letter to the Commission expressing its opposition to the use of EVMs. “We reject the Election Commission’s decision to use a limited number of EVMs,” the letter stated. EVMs have been abandoned even in the most technologically advanced countries of the world as they can be hacked and manipulated. The Jatiyo Oikko Front took a strong position against using EVMs even in a single center in the 11th parliamentary elections.”[9] Other opposition political parties also voiced their opposition to the use of EVMs. Ignoring the views of the opposition political parties, the Commission arbitrarily decided to use EVMs in national elections and accordingly amended the Representation of the People Order, 1972.
EVM without a paper trail
If the EVM does not have the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) attached, there is no scope for auditing the results of the vote. Therefore, the VVAPT has now become the internationally recognized method of recounting votes cast using EVMs. According to Verified Voting Foundation:
“Voting machines should not be purchased or used unless they provide a voter-verifiable audit trail; when such machines are already in use, they should be replaced or modified to provide a voter-verifiable audit trail. Providing a voter-verifiable audit trail should be one of the essential requirements for certification of new voting systems.”[10]
In India, following a Supreme Court order, the VVPAT system is now attached to the EVMs used in India’s national elections. But our Election Commission ignored the recommendation of the Technical and Advisory Committee, headed by National Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, a prominent educationist, to include VVAPT in EVMs purchased for Bangladesh.[11] It may be noted that Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury did not sign the recommendation of the sub-committee for the use of EVM without the paper audit trail.[12]
EVM purchase
The Election Commission was so enthusiastic about the use of EVMs in our parliamentary elections that it started the EVM procurement process even before the EVM procurement project was approved by the government. According to an investigative report by Prothom Alo, the Commission started the process of importing EVMs even before presenting the proposal at the EVM Procurement Project Evaluation Committee for the purchase of 1.5 lakh EVMs with Tk. 3,829 crore.[13] The Commission also played a suspicious role in spending the state funds on EVM purchase. According to a report by Prothom Alo,
“Bangladesh has spent 11 times more on EVMs than India. The Election Commission of India has fixed the price of the new EVM model at Rs 17,000 for use in various elections including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The price of an EVM in India was Tk. 21,250, if one Indian rupee is converted at the rate of Tk. 1.25. As such, Bangladesh is buying EVMs at 11 times the cost of India.”[14]
Even then the CEC KM Nurul Huda later admitted that the EVMs used in the 11th parliamentary elections were defective.[15]
Therefore, the application of EVMs and the use of EVMs without paper trails and the purchase of EVMs at very high prices, in our view, represent a gross misconduct, requiring proper investigation.
2.2 Gross misconduct and irregularities in conducting the 11th parliamentary elections
Not taking action against violations of pre-election code of conduct
Two teenagers were killed in electoral violence in the capital’s Mohammadpur area just two days after the announcement of the first schedule for the 11th parliamentary elections on November 08, 2018.[16] Despite such a tragic incident, the Election Commission failed to take any action against the culprits. Throughout the election campaign, various types of violations of the code of conduct were reported in the media. A Prothom Alo report of December 29, 2018, just one day before the elections, informs that between December 10 and 27, there were 250 incidents of clashes related to the election campaign in 149 constituencies across the country.[17] According to another report of the English daily The Daily Star published on the same day, between December 10 and 28, at least 56 candidates were attacked during the election campaign, in which 1,190 people were injured.[18] Although Rule 17(3) of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates in Parliamentary Elections, 2006 empowers the Commission to take appropriate actions against violations of the Code of Conduct, the Commission failed to do so. This we think was an ill-intentioned and deliberate failure of the Commission to enforce the electoral regulations
Various election crimes and gross misconduct on the election day
On December 30, 2018, the day of the election, various irregularities had taken place. A journalist of BBC Bangla reported that he saw in the morning stuffed ballot boxes at a polling station in Chittagong-10 constituency before the start of voting.[19] News of various irregularities was published in newspapers and on social media throughout the day.
A survey conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) after the election also revealed allegations of stuffing of the ballot boxes the night before. The TIB has recorded the incidents of stuffing in the night before in 33 of the 50 seats selected on a random basis. Other election irregularities in the TIB’s research report included:
“Out of 50 constituencies, in 30 constituencies booths were captured and the perpetrators openly stamped ballot papers, in 29 constituencies polling agents were obstructed from entering, in 26 constituencies voters were barred from voting or forced to vote for certain candidates, in 22 constituencies there were shortages of ballot papers, in 21 constituencies prospective voters were driven away, in 20 constituencies ballot boxes were stuffed in advance, and opposition candidates and their supporters were beaten up in 11 constituencies.”[20]
The Commission did not take any legal action despite the fact that every incident mentioned in the report represented violations of sections 73–90 of the Representation of the People Order, 1972. Incidentally, in Noor Hossain vs Nazrul Islam, the Appellate Division observed in 1996:
“Time and again this Division held that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to see that the election is conducted justly, honestly and fairly and not to encourage demonstration of muscle power in the election. The Division also observed that post-election allegations are to be decided by the Election Tribunal and not by the Election Commission. We cannot but reiterate that if there are contemporaneous report or allegations about disturbance, rigging of ballot papers or election not being held justly, honestly and fairly then, after being satisfied about the correctness of the report or allegations, the Election Commission would be justified to cancel the result of the election and direct re-poll. But it would not be justified to cancel the result of the Election held peacefully on the basis of post-election allegations.”[21]
We are not aware of any instances of the present Election Commission investigating the allegations of fraud and taking punitive action against anyone. We believe that this grossly motivated inaction in law enforcement is undoubtedly a gross misconduct, which will be proven, if investigated by the Supreme Judicial Council.
Unusually high turnout
Many abnormalities and inconsistencies were detected from the analysis of the centrewise election results released by the Election Commission in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act six months after the 11th parliamentary elections. It was clear from the centrewise data that results declared by the Commission were largely fabricated. The published results show that 100 percent votes were cast in 213 centers, which is in no way possible. Because of death of registered voters, them being outside the country or being at work outside the constituency or even being ill, 100 percent turnout rate is an impossibility. In addition, 90 to 99 percent votes were cast in 7,689 (or 19.15%) centers, which is also not normal and realistic.
All valid votes cast in favour of only one symbol
The centerwise results show that in 590 centers, 100 percent of valid votes were cast in favour of one symbol/candidate, which is not realistic. In 1,177 (or 2.93%) centres, candidates with sheaf of paddy symbol, in 3,388 (or 8.44%) centers candidates with plough symbol, in 2,933 (or 7.3%) centers candidates with hand fan symbol, and in 2 centres candidates with boat symbol received zero votes, which is also absurd. Such abnormalities in the results are a reflection of the gross misconduct by the Election Commission.
The discrepancy between the centrewise results with the result declared by the Returning Officers
There are also some serious discrepancies between the results of the 11th parliament elections declared by the Returning Officers on the day of the election and the centrewise results received under RTI requests six months later. For example, the number of votes received by Syed Mohammad Hasan Maruf Rumi of Gono Shanghati Andolon, a candidate from Chittagong-10 constituency, were shown as ‘zero’ in the election night, but the centerwise results showed that he secured 243 votes. Comparison of the results declared by the Returning Officers with the centerwise results, revealed that the number of valid votes in 32 constituencies increased by 45,596 and the number of valid votes in 19 constituencies decreased by 10,930. On the other hand, 10,987 invalid votes increased in 40 constituencies and 5,820 invalid votes decreased in 20 constituencies. Compared to the results declared on the election day, centerwise results showed the number of votes for the boat symbol increased by 26,585, sheaf of paddy increased by 7,317 and ploughs by 5,953, but the number of votes received by the hand fan symbol decreased by 1,323. These discrepancies between the results signed by the Returning Officers on the day of the polling and the centerwise results represent serious fraud, and consequently gross misconduct.
Differences between EVM and paper ballot results
EVMs were used in 6 constituencies (Rangpur-3, Khulna-2, Satkhira-2, Dhaka-6, Dhaka-13 and Chittagong-9) in the 11th parliamentary elections. The average voter turnout in these constituencies was 51.42%, with the lowest being 19.82% in Dhaka-13 and the highest 62.87% in Chittagong-9. On the other hand, the average turnout in the constituencies using paper ballots was 80.80%, which is 29.38% higher than the constituencies using EVMs. This gap of about 30% in average voter turnout rate in the same election due to differences in the voting system raises serious questions about the credibility of the election results.
2.3 Gross misconduct and irregularities in conducting Dhaka (North and South) city corporation elections
Again EVM
The Election Commission decided to use EVM in all the centers in the Dhaka (North and South) city corporation elections even after the CEC admitted that there were problems in using EVMs in the national election.[22] The CEC also earlier announced that EVMs would not be used in the Dhaka city corporation elections if anyone had objections. However, just three days after making that announcement, the CEC decided to use EVMs in Dhaka city corporation elections without any consultation with political parties, candidates or civil society. Once again, EVMs without VVPAT were used in these local elections.
The Election Commission organised an EVM exhibition for the media on January 7, 2020 to introduce EVMs to the public. According to a report in the daily Ittefaq, journalists at the exhibition identified various defects in the EVM. “Journalists showed EC technical experts how one person can vote for another in an EVM,” the report said.
“As seen, an Assistant Presiding Officer is in charge of operating the EVM machine. After a voter enters the polling station and identifies the voter in the control unit by national identity card number, smart card or fingerprint, she/he is considered eligible for voting. At this point the presiding officer or agent of the dominant candidate at the polling station in many cases gets the opportunity to press the confirmation button by pressing the symbol of his choice in the ballot unit. In such a situation, voters have little choice but to come back without voting herself/himself.”[23]
Meanwhile, in the by-election of Chittagong-6 constituency held on January 13, 2020, various news about the suffering of the voters with EVMs were published in newspapers.
Despite these experiences with EVMs, the Election Commission hastily introduced EVMs without securing public confidence in this new technology. As a result, the lowest voter turnout rate — on the average 27.02% for both city corporations — in the history of city corporation elections was recorded.
Delay in publication of results in EVM
Despite the Election Commission’s announcement that with the use of EVMs the election results could be almost instantaneously declared, it took about 11 hours to announce the full results of Dhaka North city corporation elections. Regarding the delays in announcing the results, Mr. Abul Kashem, Returning Officer, Dhaka North, blamed the network and mechanical faults.[24] Thus, the justification for using EVMs that results would be available quickly was proven to be untrue.
2.4 Gross misconduct and irregularities in conducting Khulna city corporation elections
Not only the Dhaka (North and South) city corporation elections but also the elections of Khulna, Gazipur, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Barisal city corporation elections held immediately before the Jatiya Sangsad elections were marred by demonstrated gross misconduct of the Election Commission. Citizens were introduced to a new form of controlled elections during the Khulna city corporation polling held on May 15, 2018. A report published in Prothom Alo on May 17, 2018 stated:
“The people of this city never saw such a scene — keeping the relevant parties under control without indulging in violence and stifling the opposition. Eight journalists of Prothom Alo visited 80 centers throughout the day. Leaders and activists of Awami League and its affiliated organizations could be seen in front of almost all the centers. They virtually controlled the entrances to the centers. They monitored voters, observers, whosoever came to the centers.”[25]
Journalists have also witnessed incidents of forcible stamping of ballot papers at various centers, stopping of vote casting, centers running out of ballot papers and forcibly driving out agents.[26] These incidents clearly reflect gross misconduct on the part of the Election Commission in city corporation elections.
2.5 Gross misconduct and irregularities in conducting Gazipur city corporation elections
Gazipur city corporation elections were held on June 26, 2018, one month after the Khulna city corporation elections. Serious allegations of using government apparatuses to influence the election were raised. The situation became so serious that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party demanded the withdrawal of SP Harun Ur Rashid as he was cracking down on BNP leaders, activists and agents to unduly influence the election.[27] The issue of the role of the police in the Gazipur City Corporation elections came up in a statement read out by commissioner Mahbub Talukder at a meeting of the Election Commission with police officials on November 22, 2018, prior to the 11th parliamentary elections. Mr. Mahbub Talukder said:
“There are allegations that uniformed police and plainclothes police picked up many people from their homes or from the streets during the election in Gazipur. Many were taken to other districts. Except for one of them, the police have not admitted the arrest of the others. Several of them were found in Keraniganj Central Jail after the election. How did they go to jail if they were not arrested? No answer was found to this question.”[28]
The Commission clearly committed gross misconduct by not taking any action about the serious irregularities committed in the Gazipur city corporation elections.
2.6 Gross misconduct and irregularities in conducting Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi city corporation elections
Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi city corporation elections were held on July 30, 2018. In these three city corporation elections also the Election Commission continued to indulge in gross misconduct. Neither the CEC Nurul Huda nor any of his colleagues went to any of the cities to observe the voting process.[29] Barisal experienced the worst type of rigging among the three city corporation elections. Between 11am and 12pm, five mayoral candidates other than the Awami League candidate announced their boycott and rejection of votes alleging various irregularities, and the media was also reporting various irregularities. Despite this, the Election Commission allowed the voting to continue.
In his written statement, Mr. Mahbub Talukder, the election commissioner in charge of preparing reports on Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi city corporation elections, said:
“The voting situation in the morning was very good. As the day progressed, various irregularities started to unfold. By 11 o’clock, it seemed to me that voting could not continue like the way it was going. I informed the Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners that the voting in Barisal must be stopped. At one point, all the commissioners agreed to stop the polling, but we refrained from doing so on the concern that the law enforcement agencies would not be able to handle the situation and provide security for election officials.”[30]
Conducting such fraudulent elections despite security concerns, in our view, represent gross misconduct on the part of the Election Commission. The Commission also committed gross misconduct by holding re-election only in six wards rather than cancelling the entire election after investigation.
We respectfully request His Excellency, the President, to direct the concerned state agencies to conduct preliminary investigations of these other allegations of gross misconduct we raised against the Election Commission. Subject to the establishment of the veracity of the above allegations through these investigations, we humbly request the President to constitute the Supreme Judicial Council to further investigate the allegations and remove the members of the Election Commission, led by KM Nurul Huda, if found guilty of committing gross misconduct.
Footnotes
[1] “Election Commission’s inherent power under the provision of ‘superintendence, control and direction’ shall be construed to mean the power to supplement the statutory rules in the sole purpose of ensuring free and fair elections,” Altaf Hossain vs Abul Kashem [45 DLR (AD) 53].
[2] “That is no election and that is no democracy. Election is needed to sustain democracy and a perverse election or voterless election destroys democracy,” Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury, AFM Shah Alam vs. Mujibur Rahman and others [41DLR (AD) (1989)].
[3] Prothom Alo, August 06, 2019.
[4] Prothom Alo, November 25, 2019.
[5] Bdnews24, November 25, 2019.
[6] Bangladesh Pratidin, October 03, 2020.
[7] ‘Worldwide EVM rejection in conducting free and fair elections and the experience of Bangladesh’ Professor A B M Obayedul Islam, January 15, 2020.[8] Prothom Alo, July 06, 2018.
[9] Bangla Tribune, November 20, 2018.
[10] https://www.verifiedvoting.org/ resources/vvpr-legislation/
[11] Prothom Alo, October 15, 2018.
[12] Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Prothom Alo, January 03, 2020.
[13] Prothom Alo, August 30, 2018.
[14] Prothom Alo, October 15, 2018.
[15] Jugantor, January 30, 2019.
[16] Jugantor, November 11, 2018.
[17] Prothom Alo, December 29, 2018.
[18] The Daily Star, December 29, 2018.
[19] BBC Bangla, December 30, 2018.
[20] TIB Report on 11th National Elections, April 03, 2019.
[21] Noor Hossain v Nazrul Islam [5 BLC (AD) 2000].
[22] The Daily Star Bangla, December 25, 2019.
[23] The Daily Ittefaq, January 07, 2020.
[24] Dhaka Times, February 02, 2020.
[25] Prothom Alo, May 17, 2018.
[26] Prothom Alo, May 16, 2018.
[27] Prothom Alo, June 15, 2018.
[28] Prothom Alo, November 25, 2018.
[29] Prothom Alo, July 31, 2018.
[30] Prothom Alo, November 25, 2018.
