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Public
Lecture on Democratic Processes,
National Elections and Civil
Society Initiatives: Indian
Experience
26 September 2006 at CIRDAP
Auditorium
Former chief election
commissioner (CEC) Mohammad Abu
Hena (26 Sept, 2006) stressed
the need for neutrality of the
Election Commission (EC) and
appointment of the "right person
in the right place" for fair
polls. Contradicting him,
another former CEC Justice Abdur
Rouf advocated for the
neutrality of the election
process instead of looking for
neutral persons. The two former
CECs gave their opinions at a
public lecture titled
"Democratic processes, national
elections and civil society
initiatives: Indian experience"
organised by Centre for Policy
Dialogue (CPD) at Brac Centre in
the capital.
Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, a civil
society leader from India,
shared his experiences about the
civil society initiatives in
Indian elections.
Speakers at the lecture also
favoured strengthening of the EC
and bringing in political
reforms to make the upcoming
election free and fair.
Noting that all governments want
to influence the EC, Abu Hena
said the neutrality of the EC is
as important as placing the
right persons in right positions
for a fair poll."Recent debates
are the outcome of not placing
the right person in the right
places," he said. He pointed to
the tendency of sitting
governments, "who always try to
gain in the election by
satisfying the bureaucrats and
administration", for corrupting
the administration.
Justice Rouf said, "Since the
CEC is a citizen and casts his
vote to some party, attempts
would be in vain to find a
neutral person. Rather, it is
important to bring in neutrality
in the election process."He
suggested increasing the number
of polling booths and double
counting of the cast votes. He
also underscored the need for a
fair voter list.
Dr Jayaprakash, national
coordinator of Lok Satta and the
Voteindia movements--a civil
society initiative and people's
movement for wide-ranging
governance and political
reforms, emphasised the civil
society initiatives for a fair
election.Among the non-elected
bodies, the Supreme Court and EC
are the most powerful and most
credible organisations in India,
he said, adding that this is
very important for fair
polls.Describing the
socio-cultural aspects of the
subcontinent as homogenous,
Jayaprakash pointed out some
drawbacks of the election
process that include flawed
electoral rolls, polling
irregularities, unaccounted and
illegitimate use of money power,
rampant criminalisation and
autocratic political parties.
In the face of civil society
initiatives, India has made some
achievements in disclosure of
candidate details, political
funding reform law, changes in
the Rajya Sabha election, strong
anti-defection provisions,
electronic voting machines and
improvement in voter
registration, he said.
Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya,
executive director of CPD, in
his introductory speech
explained the civil society
moves in Bangladesh with a view
to preparing a vision paper for
the country.
"We need to change the current
composition of the Election
Commission to generate public
confidence in the upcoming
election," he said.He also
emphasised preparation of a fair
voter list, depoliticisation of
the administration and political
reforms for a fair poll, noting
that the citizens' committee has
already placed a 37-point draft
on electoral and political
reforms.
The CPD organised the lecture in
association with SUPRO, BROTEE,
FEMA, Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK),
Bangladesh National Women
Lawyers Association (BNWLA),
Centre for Development
Communication (CDC),
Democracywatch and Steps Towards
Development.
CPD Chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan
chaired the session.
Among politicians, ASHK Sadeque,
Lt Gen (retd) Nooruddin Khan and
GM Quader were present at the
lecture, while Prof Muzaffer
Ahmad, Khan Sarwar Murshid, Dr
Anisuzzaman, Dr Zafarullah
Chowdhury, Dr Badiul Alam
Majumder, Taleya Rehman, Ranjan
Karmakar and Muhammad Jahangir
participated in the open
discussion besides diplomats and
other civil society members.
Download presentation of
Dr Jayaprakash Narayan
