Dhaka, Feb 9 (.) Encouraging the country to cast a “Yes” vote for the July Charter referendum during the February 12 national polls, Bangladesh interim govt Chief Advisor Md Yunus said that “If the ‘yes’ vote wins, Bangladesh’s future will be built in a more positive way.”
One of the most contentious issues in the upcoming twin polls, the referendum on the so-called July Charter seeks a constitutional overhaul; rewriting its entire constitutional framework by replacing its current four-principle political tenets of democracy, socialism, secularism, and nationalism, with equality, pluralism, religious freedom, and human dignity.
The lack of consensus on the document by parties, and its vague nature has led to allegations that it seeks a transition of Bangladesh from a secular democratic republic, to one based on a softer form of Islamism, prioritising religion before nation, and favouring a more theocratic, majoritarian state.
According to the CA’s press wing, Yunus, while addressing senior secretaries and secretaries at his office in Tejgaon, expressed strong confidence in the upcoming national election, and declared that the vote this time would be a free, fair, peaceful and festive one. He criticised the previous polls during the then-Awami League-led regime, dismissing them as what he termed “mock exercises” and “fake elections”.
“In contrast, the forthcoming election will be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner. With only two days remaining, the country is almost at its destination,” he said.
Claiming that the referendum, along with the parliamentary election vote would bring an unprecedented change to Bangladesh’s political structure, he said that expatriate Bangladeshis too have been formally included in the political process, giving them a stronger share in the process of nation-building.
Calling for the extensive use of technology; stating that it has made the process easier, Yunus said that the govt had developed a mobile app to guide voters on casting their ballots, while election-related apps are being used to monitor security at nearly 43,000 polling centres across the country.
He further said that under the ‘Election Bondhu’ (Election Friend) initiative, body-cams have been provided to around 25,700 law enforcement personnel, and CCTV cameras are being installed at polling centres, and expressed optimism that these polls would go down better than any held in the country’s history, reports Daily Star.
Claiming that these polls were legitimate owing to the presence of international observers, he declared the previous three-AL polls as lacking credibility due to lack of any global spectators, dismissing them as fabricated and manipulated, while alleging that the global community was now taking the condition of democracy in Bangladesh seriously.
Claiming that no major tensions surrounded the elections, he added “Campaigning is taking place peacefully across the country. Political parties are playing a responsible role, and large public gatherings are being held without violence or disorder.”
Yunus’ claim ignored the significant violence that has surrounded campaigning, as party workers from Jamaat, BNP, IAB, NCP, among others have frequently clashed across several divisions, districts, and towns, resulting in multiple injuries, and even fatalities in cases of political violence, and frequent crackdown on protesters by law enforcement authorities, along with incidents of arson and vandalism being reported near polling centres.
. . .