We welcome the government's decision to take disciplinary action against officials involved in election rigging during the ousted Awami League (AL) regime. According to a report in this daily, 45 former deputy commissioners, now serving as joint secretaries, have been made officers on special duty (OSD), while according to another report, 22 former DCs and a joint secretary have been forced into retirement due to their role in election manipulation. Additionally, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will likely be requested to open investigations against around 50 more former DCs.

The unethical collaboration of government employees in election engineering is not only a breach of their service terms—their pledge to serve the nation, not the ruling party—but also a violation that, during the controversial national elections of 2014, 2018, and 2024, stripped citizens of their voting and democratic rights. The manipulation of these elections helped sow the seeds of fascism in the country, as it deprived citizens of their ability to hold the government accountable in any meaningful way.

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Reform dialogue must deliver consensus

For over a decade, Bangladeshis were unable to freely exercise their voting rights to elect representatives who would formulate policies in their best interests. Instead, election rigging rendered people powerless, allowing AL to gradually take complete control of all governance mechanisms—leaving no meaningful opposition even in parliament. As a result, more businessmen-turned-politicians became policymakers, and making self-serving decisions at the expense of national interests became a regular occurrence. Corruption became the norm, while transparency and accountability at every level of governance were eroded, further entrenching authoritarianism. This would not have been possible if national elections had been free and fair; even local elections were not spared from such manipulation.

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Time to set aside partisan interests

While some bureaucrats may have been pressured to collaborate with AL in election rigging, many benefited from it. All those involved must be identified, and a thorough investigation should be conducted to determine the extent of their complicity, with penalties imposed accordingly. However, the entire process—from identifying those responsible to delivering justice—must be transparent and adhere to due process.

We also urge the government to implement the Election Reform Commission's recommendations to establish checks and balances that will prevent future election manipulation. No political government should ever again have the power or means to deprive people of their voting rights.