The role of Election Commission (EC) is vital for strengthening democracy. And a free and fair election, which is its primary task, is the sine qua non for a functional democracy. And towards that end it should be transparent and free from political influence.
This EC, we are afraid, has not been able to live up to its task and generate the confidence and trust of all the major political parties. Thus, the need is for a commission which would be able to restore public confidence in it. It is not that the EC is not invested with enough powers, on the contrary, often times, it has failed to utilise the powers.
Now that the issue of the formation of the new EC has come to the fore, we believe, the focus should be to reclaim the moral ground it has lost over the last few years. That fundamentally calls for making concentrated efforts to nominate commissioners who will be able to work towards reasserting the commission’s neutrality as an organisation. The new commission, after all, is going to be entrusted with the responsibilities of conducting the next general election. If dispute overshadows its formation, one wonders whether a credible election would be possible.
We also believe that a dialogue should be welcomed if it contributes to dispelling misapprehension and holding an inclusive election, although holding a dialogue with the political parties over the formation of EC is not constitutionally binding. There is a provision for a law in our constitution on the formation of the EC, which successive governments have failed to legislate. It is time to make such a law to keep the EC out of all controversies.
Source: The Daily Star
