Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Dr Iftekharuzzaman on Friday said there will be no chance of holding a fair election if the election-time government plays a biased role.

“If the election-time government is biased, fails to play its due role for ensuring the level-playing field or plays a partial role towards any party, there will be no chance of the election being fair. So, we (TIB and media) have to observe their role as well,” he told a workshop in the capital.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman made the remarks at a training workshop on election reporting for journalists, jointly organised by TIB and Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at the TIB office in Dhanmondi’s Midas Centre.

The TIB chief said the roles of the main stakeholders must be taken into account for holding a fair and neutral election.

“Among the list of stakeholders, many think it is the Election Commission which must play a central or the most important role. I think the role of everyone among the stakeholders is too critical that it is difficult to say whose role is the most important here,” he said.

The TIB Executive Director, however, said the Election Commission must play the central role as it is their legal and constitutional responsibility. “But how much this responsibility is being performed or level-playing field is being created by the EC should be observed.”

He said this is why the EC is the first stakeholder in the list and then the election-time government comes in the list of the stakeholders.

He pointed out that political parties are also key stakeholders. “If the political parties don’t truly want fair elections and want to participate in the polls to win at any cost, it would be difficult to ensure a level-playing field,” he said, adding that the roles of political parties and their candidates should be closely monitored by media and watchdog bodies.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman also emphasised the importance of the administration and law enforcement agencies, which come under the purview of the EC during elections. “We’ve to observe how much they play their role in an impartial manner, how much there is a cultural change in their roles and practices from what we’d seen in the past,” he added.

He then said voters and election observers are also significant actors in ensuring a fair election.

He also focused on the role of other stakeholders –voters and election observers for holding a fair election.  

Turning to the EC’s guidelines for media, Dr Iftekharuzzaman stressed that journalists’ access to polling stations must be protected in the upcoming national election.

He warned that the provision requiring journalists to ‘inform’ the concerned presiding officer before entering the polling station could be misused as a tool of harassment.

The TIB chief said Bangladesh’s governance system has long suffered from politicisation and institutional weakening, which have undermined the professionalism and neutrality of the administration. “In many cases, one partisan influence has simply been replaced by another,” he said.

He observed that now three forces are active within the administration — one partisan dominant group, a replaced partisan group and a small group of professionals striving to remain neutral. “The election will be held amid this tension,” he said.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, however, acknowledged that it is not possible to suddenly transform the entire administration. “It will take time to gradually build stability and professionalism.