TIB’s report on election concocted, predetermined: EC

Waving off the Transparency International, Bangladesh, report that it found irregularities in the 11th parliamentary elections, Election Commission on Tuesday termed it as concocted and predetermined one. 

“It (the TIB report) can be said just a report, not a research work as it does not reflect the research methodology at all, so it is just a fabricated report,” Election Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam told journalists at the EC Secretariat, questioning the making of the report by TIB, the local branch of the Berlin-based organisation promoting public opinion against corruption.

“As it is their (TIB) primary report which is supposed to continue for over a month after the election, meaning it is their predetermined release,” he said.

“How was it made? How was the evidence collected? We had no involvement in it and no-one sought the EC’s permission for making the report,” the election commissioner said.

Declining TIB’s claim that it has collected qualitative data for the report, the election commissioner said the information was collected from indirect sources rather than interviews and observation of prime information sources.

For being a research work, data has to be gathered from presiding officers or any other written documents, which is grossly missing in the report, the EC claimed.

 “They should have taken our and the government’s views. But they did not involve us in any way or informed officially. So we are not evaluating the report. We are not taking cognisance of the report,” he said. “We will speak if they officially inform us about it.”

In the report published at its Dhanmondi office earlier in the day, the TIB labeled the Dec 30 general election as ‘controversial’ saying that polls irregularities took place in 47 out of 50 constituencies it surveyed during the latest election.

TIB reported the casting of fraudulent votes at one or more centers of 41 constituencies and ballot box stuffing on the eve of the election occurred in 33 constituencies.

The anti-graft watchdog said polling stations were occupied in 30 constituencies and polling agents obstructed in 29 constituencies. Voters were forced to vote for a particular symbol in 26 constituencies while opposition leaders and activists were beaten up in 11 constituencies.  

TIB recommended appointing honest and neutral people as the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. It also suggested investigating allegations of violence and breach of polls code and taking effective steps based on the findings.

Source: unb