2024 polls were ‘dummy, farcical’

Former chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday told a Dhaka court that the 2024 national election was "dummy and farcical".

He said this during a remand hearing in a case where he is accused of election irregularities and acting with bias.

Awal highlighted the limitations of the Election Commission, saying it would not be possible to hold fair polls in Bangladesh even in the next 1,000 years unless there are fundamental reforms.

He was escorted to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court with his hands cuffed around 12:50pm amid tight security. He was wearing a police helmet and bulletproof vest.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman began the proceedings by hearing the prosecution side.

Sub-Inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, who is investigating the case, submitted a petition seeking a 10-day remand for Awal.

Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi said, "The accused served as the chief election commissioner from 2022 to September 2024. Under his leadership, a disgraceful national election was held on January 7, 2024. Except for the Awami League and one or two other parties, no others participated in that dummy election. It was one-sided, staged, and farcical. He failed to ensure a free and fair election."

Awal's lawyer argued against the remand prayer, saying, "Awal is 70 years old and suffering from multiple chronic diseases. In resisting fascism, let us not become fascists ourselves."

With the court's permission, Awal then said, "The election was indeed a dummy and farcical one."

The magistrate asked, "An election inquiry committee was formed in every district, headed in most cases by a joint district judge. Earlier, the honorarium for this was Tk 22,000, which you increased to Tk 5,00,000. Wasn't this a waste of public money?"

Awal replied that he had no knowledge of the matter, adding that the raise might have accounted for inflation over five years.

Magistrate Mostafizur then asked if any of the inquiry committees actually visited the polling centres during the election.

Awal replied, "Each returning officer was responsible for four to five parliamentary constituencies and assisted by four to five assistant returning officers. To properly hold an election, a mere 2 percent of the responsibility lies with the Election Commission, and the remaining 98 percent with field-level officers."

Asked why he had not resigned knowing the state of the election, Awal said, "Resigning was not possible in that situation. One of my friends asked me about resigning. I replied, 'If you had told me earlier that such a terrible election was coming, I wouldn't have taken the post in the first place.'"

Awal added, "In 1973, just three months after the 1972 Constitution was adopted, the Awami League won 293 seats. That election too was not free and fair. The lust for power is such that even Sheikh Mujib couldn't resist it. In 1996, the Awami League took to the streets for a caretaker government. Later, the party itself amended the constitution to hold elections under partisan governments."

Prosecutor Omar then said, "He is trying to justify [what he had done]. He should not be allowed to make such comments."

Awal replied, "If I am not allowed to justify myself, then shoot me dead."

Pro-BNP lawyers began a commotion after this comment.

After nearly half an hour of hearing, the court placed Awal on a three-day remand.

Police arrested Awal in the capital's Moghbazar area on Wednesday in a case filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on Sunday.

Awal and the other accused face charges of depriving people of their voting rights.

In the same case, another former CEC, KM Nurul Huda, was arrested on Sunday. The next day, a court placed him on a four-day remand.

BNP Executive Committee member Salah Uddin Khan filed the case, naming 24 individuals. Another former CEC, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, is also accused in the case.

In another development, three more charges, including sedition, have been added to the case.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minhazur Rahman on Wednesday passed an order in this regard after the investigators filed an application, seeking inclusion of the sections 124A (sedition), 420 (cheating and dishonesty) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the penal code, said a court employee.

Evidence of offences punishable under these sections have been found during the investigation, according to the police forwarding report.

The total number of charges in the case now stands at 10.