The nomination drama — or why BNP may yet surprise everyone
BNP election symbol
Awami League’s nomination drama
In the spirit of internal party democracy, respect for the grass root wishes, and party reform, AL instituted a formula whereby in each seat, the local party members voted for 5 candidates among whom the eventual nominee would be chosen by the party chief. However, if she feels necessary, the chief can disregard the list and nominate whomever she wishes.
So they had an internal vote, which involved among other things: ballot stuffing, ballot box hijacking, accusation of vote rigging, and rejection of results. In any event, the party chief disregarded the internal polls in quite a few seats. In way too many seats, media reports of ‘omuk is obanchito’ or ‘tomuk thekao committee’. There were even scuffles in front of the party headquarter of the party chief’s house.
In quite a few places, we may see rebel candidates. It is not unusual to see supporters of the loser in the primary election spoil the party’s chances in the general election — didn’t we hear a lot about the PUMAs (Party Unity My Arse) in the US? Awami PUMAs did cost the party up to two dozen seats in 1991. How serious is the problem this time?
The drama in BNP
BNP didn’t have any ‘primary election’. Normally, the party chairperson has an interview with each nomination seeker, where each candidate has to make their case. This time, the interview consists of the chairperson assembling all nomination seekers from a district into a room and giving a rousing speech: the country’s sovereignty is at stake, and more importantly, the very survival of the party is at stake — look what they did to our families — and there is no alternative to winning this election. When the party men are sufficiently roused up, she tells them, the nominee will be someone who can win, and everyone else must unite behind the nominee. Then she promises that unsuccessful nomination seekers will be looked after if the party wins, but if the party loses, all will be lost.
The party chairperson will choose the nominees with the help of a three-membered nomination board that includes Lt Gen Mahbubur Rahman, an erstwhile reformist leader who received juta-peta from the grassroot a few months back. As the party chief says, ‘to protect the country’s sovereignty, the nationalist forces must unite’.
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Anyone who knows anything about what happened in 1991 would see the parallel. I am not predicting a BNP win. But I am willing to wager that BNP will do much better than what the conventional wisdom holds.
Tags: BNP
I agree. My observation has been that in the post 1/11 development, AL could not benifit as much as they could have and BNP did not lose as much as they should have. Things would have been different had the election been right after Jan 07. People have short memory after all. Just one illustration: both the party chiefs were convicted for corruption and both cleared by ACC. So symbolically – both have the same image, both are at per. This goes to the advantage of BNP and a repetition of 1991 would not surprise me.
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I think Hasina’s image is somewhat not too bad with public this time around. Maybe BNP is not in as worse shape as it was in January 2007, still its gonna be har for them to acheive majority. And also there is the ambitious Jamat factor that we need to account for. If AL can somehow manage the bonchito’s, I guess they are gonna get a handy majority.
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Out of curiousity, any ideas why the two BNP blogs (you know the ones I mean
) have gone silent since Septembr?
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Hey, I’ve been blogging. Oh, you mean Dhaka Shohor and Krishnachura?
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BNP are quite flukey, maybe they have plans of which they are divulging little. I was kinda hoping for some kind of manifesto, though perhaps development partners can do all of that.
It was interesting to read that AL has made space in its own alliance for a faction from IOJ.
I hope that as well as divvying up the seats to eachother the main parties are preparing key people for the major and less major portfolios. Moral and talented people to Electricity and Water please, and a balanced personality for Education
Feel sad for Rangpur, if Ershad has got it wrong, and the national picture does go BNP, the north west will be very gutted.
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errrmmm….dhakashohor and krishnochura are BNP blogs?? Really?? OK!!!! I don’t about DS, but i’ve stopped blogging because of personal reasons.
anyway, about the nomination drama: there’s AL candidate, or should I rather say was, Mr. Sultan Mansur of former MP of Maulvibazar. A man I’ve never seen without a mujib coat, who’s “hello tune” is the 7 March speech of Mujib’s and who’s done his best to look like Bongobondhu himself. He’s what I refer to as a hard-core AL. No Dudok cases of importance (if any at all) were filed against him. But he was denied nomination on grounds of being shongshkarponthi . At the same time, I keep hearing rumors that from my area, Dhaka-19, Ershad will be the AL candidate. If it’s Brigadier Hannan Shah against him from BNP, you know who’ll get my vote!!!
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jamaat?
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Among all the obvious differences, I see an eerie parallel between Democrats-Republicans and AL-BNP. BNP (like republicans) do all the bad things, and although AL (like democrats) are not that bad, their terrible political sense makes them lose.
If AL had half the political sense of BNP, there is little reason for BNP to come to power not only this time, but ANY time. BNP strives because of the mistakes of AL, and capitalizing on the anti-AL sentiment.
That day, a BNP leader was telling me that they are hoping Hasina opens her mouth a few more times…that would ascertain a BNP victory more than anything BNP themselves can do!
That shows how much Sheikh hasina herself is the biggest liability for her party, whereas Khaleda Zia is the biggest asset for hers. Even though Khaleda is WAY more crooked than Hasina, she is WAY more shrewd as well.
I hate both of them, but for different reasons – Khaleda for being as twisted and corrupt as she is…and Hasina for being so darn stupid!
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Rubayat,
Isn’t it darn stupid to dub Khaled as ‘twisted and corrupt as she is’ and Hasina as ’so darn stupid’, as they are two sides of the same coin?
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Udayan
I’ll be glad if you could speak a bit clearly which blogs you have been referring to. I long have been trying to look at a BNP bloggers view point about the country, both from before 1/11 and after 1/11. Please be specific and give us the name of the blogs.
Rumi
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Oh well,
Fariha makes a good point! Should we vote for Ershad or Hannan Shah?
It is very difficult for anyone in our position to vote for Ershad.
However,
A vote for Hannan Shah means a vote for JAMATI ISLAMI…. NIJAMI as federal minister….a vote for Hannan Shah means a vote for Salam Pintu…. the mastermind of 21 August grenade attack!
I am not suggesting anything but there is the formula of strategic voting. You pick your poison. You can vote for the cadidiate or vote for the alliance!
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If constitution says “Persons convicted with imprisonment for 2 years or more shall be disqualified for polls” then WHY is Ershad nominated?? I know, cos of technicalities, he left jail more than 5 years ago?? or whatever. What a disgrace! And you call this “free. fair, elections” ?
Its ONLY in Bdesh, that an ex-President, CONVICTED for corruption, can be even considered for election. Law or no law, what sham democracy and what moral structure does Bangladesh have to ALLOW such a criminal to stand in elections, just so that votes can be collected!! This is why reform in Electoral law was so crirtical, to eleiminate criminals from increasing poverty and starvation in BD.
Shame on AL, shame on BD politics, and shame on our People’s morality!!
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In the absense of people you know and trust, the ‘none of the above’ option seems to me to be the best option for somebody wanting to minimise the gunna they incur through pledging allegiance confidence in the wrong person (tyrant/inept)
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Rumi,
Its a pity that even after glorifying Khaleda and Delwar so relentlessly, you are still ‘trying to look at a BNP bloggers view point about the country’.
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Ahbab Aziz
the question were not pointed at you, You. Any look at you, you are talking again. After all froth you secreted glorifying 1/11 and Gen Moeen et el you should be hiding under 1000 feet earth now. There should be a limit to shamelessness.
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fug, if I had to vote “NONE OF THE ABOVE”, cos all candidates are criminals, convicts, cadres or corrupt, then why exercise my right to vote?
It should not be left to voters to decide whether the guy is an EX-CONVICT, criminal, cadre or not. They should NEVER be on th ballot in the first place.
In the case of Ershad – a SELF-CONFESSED ex-convict, I dont have to be a genius to decide that my vote must go to the other guy, anyone but Ershad. (other guy may also be a criminal).
The Nation’s Electoral LAW must decide if we want to propagate policies of CORRUPTION (Ershad), JAMAT(Nizami), MASTANI, TERRORISM etc, and having set those decisions, they MUST eliminate those guys from the ballot. The Election Commission should PURGE them out BEFORE printing ballots, so that general public dont even accidentally elect QUESTIONABLE guys into power.
Otherwise, we are like walking into CENTRAL JAIL and electing criminals for BD parliament, which is already infested with crime, corruption and chaos.
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Rumi,
If equating Khaleda and Hasina is glorifying 1/11, then of course I glorified 1/11. If supporting a level playing field before election is glorifying Gen. Moeen, then surely I glorified 1/11.
I still believe 1/11 has forced the polity, for the first time, to recognize corruption as the no.1 issue / problem facing the nation. However, how could I glorify 1/11 as the present govt. never came anywhere near creating a level playing field? So, I have no reason to hide ‘under 1000 feet earth now’. Rather, its people like you who should do so for delivering gospel in support of the pre-1/11 Mafia-rule, masquerading as democracy.
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KGazi, Capitals hurt my eyes. The EC will do a kind of filtering, in a daft bureaucratic way, but ‘the people’ need to show some moral initiative and political ethics also.
None of the above its much more ethical than not voting or voting for someone rubbish. it is actually a very ‘progressive’ vote to make. It means you a) voice your concern, b) deny those parasites your blood c) create a political signal thats the equivalent of sticking two fingers up at the hopeless main players.
Apparently destroying these powerpoles physically and institutionally from the head personality down to the party worker, is ‘barbaric’ and ‘un democratic’. None of the above is a more consensual, effette yet powerful way of doing the same. dont give them your power folks, they are rubbish.
I think it needs to be publicised more, perhaps under some CARE sponsored ‘youth’ directive or some inane ‘talent’ show. That would get the message through. You could even interpret a ‘none of the above’ vote to be a vote for the CTG with a bigger people’s mandate. A strange electoral alliance indeed.
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fug, EC must do the filtering, thats a fundamental requirement of democratic elections, for them to be free and fair. No ifs and or buts.
You can expect handful of sophisticated voters to maybe abstain, but majority voters will pick ‘one of the above’ candidates – most of whom are crooks or convicts (if EC doesnt filter). This leads the nation and parliament to be inherently corrupt and criminal. Back again to pre 1/11.
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Fug is right. Voting requires time and effort. If a sizeable number of people take the trouble of standing in line for hours and then vote ‘no’, that will be a much stronger message than anything coming out of the chattering classes (including everyone in present company).
I personally don’t think we will see a sizeable ‘no’ vote. I think most voters choose a side, and most do so knowingly. But it would be interesting to see exactly what %age of votes cast are for ‘none of the above’.
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Arif bhai,
This isn’t the “no civil war” hannan shah. this is the other brigadier hannan shah
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get it right. its Shah Abdul Hannan. and he was set up and fell into shahriar kabir’s public infantalisation trap.
jyoti, is anybody interested in taking the ‘no’ campaign to the streets? I think it could be an initiative for Real Development Alternative. off the cuff people say they are all rubbish. and not necessarily the ’sophisticated ones.
a no campaign would be so much fun and educative, just like a Nader one. it wouldnt have the india’s muppet, war criminal, autocratic, stupid baggage that current campaigns have. it would bring together a lot of honourable people who refuse to allow themselves to be used and abused by the joker classes.
what would you do with said data?
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A no campaign would basically mean stay home. In BD ballots, its either a or b, no “let me think about it”!!
% experiments have already been grandfathered in other election worlds, no need to re-invent the wheel. The results of those experiments is, as I said – the EC must filter the No-No’s out of the ballot, otherwise people think these are “qualified” candidates, when in reality they are convict/crooks.
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Why would a “NO” campaign mean, stay at home? It means simply this : we are exercising our democratic right, we are voting, but we won’t vote for these men. get better candidates or you wont get our votes.
” NO” isn’t “let me think about it” . NO means NO I DON’T THINK EITHER DESERVE TO HAVE A SEAT IN OUR PARLIAMENT
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Fug,
Could you check back and let me know?? As far as I know this Hannan is the army man. Dhaka-17 is mostly Cantonment with Gulshan and Banani
Read it here http://www.newagebd.com/2008/dec/04/front.html
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sljamal : Dec 04, 2008 @1325 hrs BST
Fug, its a fantastic proposal about “no campaign”. a score of my chums and self are now entirely mesmerizing on this matter, as the majority are not even aware that such “no” vote provision exist hence, you will have a lot of promotion campaign works on your hands.
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Shah abdul hannan isnt a wannabe mp, so its not him running. Dhaka-17 sounds like a place that should be taken apart brick by brick according to the wish of Bhashani.
sal j jamal,
i wonder where the ‘no’ option appears on the voting form and what symbol it has. i think it’s symbol should be something deshis can associate with imagination and that the future isnt doomed to follow these 4 or 5 particular trails.
its like with atheism. the first part of shahada is ‘no’. the first part of a political future for bangladesh is with a ‘no’.
its about formalising that apathy.
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kgazi,
but ec filtering only suffocates new parties from breathing first breath and ensuring the depolyiment of a very *paki* sense of ‘education’.
the two begums should have been punished severely for their crimes and vanished from this sacred earth. but their accusers had no spine and legal forces had little competance. the least the EC can do is apply the rules to make hope more easy to visualise.
look at formula one racing, they change the rules all the time to keep it interesting. oh yeah, almost forgot, “bengali muslims dont do institutions!”
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Anyone is free to vote anyone, but here’s the problems:
1) A no-No candidate destroys the opportinity for one with no criminal records.
2) we only get 1 election in 5 years, so if we land with a criminal, he/she destroys the nation for 5 years, which takes decades to repair.
3) between the 2 begums, how many people out of 100 million will say no to both? only a handful!!
Folks, any anti-corrupt candidate PROPOSAL (no vote?) is good, and thats what I am getting at, and if thats carried out, then MORE convicts and crooks will be eliminated from the system.
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And heres the good news from DS today, looks like there is some nomination criteria after all. We have some hope for the future
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[The nomination paper of Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad (Habiganj-3) was declared invalid as another aspirant filed nomination as a JP candidate for the same constituency, reports our correspondent from Habiganj.
The nomination of journalist Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, who filed nomination for Feni-1 as an AL candidate, was cancelled for defaulting on loans. The RO also cancelled nominations of eight candidates in different constituencies in Feni, reports our Feni Correspondent.
In Bhola, the nomination paper of BNP leader Hafiz Ibrahim, who filed nomination for Bhola-2 as an independent candidate, was cancelled on Wednesday as he was convicted in corruption cases. The RO also cancelled the nominations of four other candidates including Siddiqur Rahman Manna, assistant personal secretary of Dhaka city Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, reports our correspondent from Bhola........]]
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=66206
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The option of ‘no’ vote is the best tangible thing the present govt. has managed to provide so far. Why? Because if ‘no’ gets more votes than any symbol, polls will be re-held, and then political parties will be forced to field cleaner candidates. I believe ‘no’ vote gives a golden opportunity to the citizens to change the status quo in Bangladesh, to turn it into a democracy, as all are simply frustrated with the activities of the existing political parties. However, the thing is, obviously, who are the takers for campaign for ‘no’ vote?
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http://www.amardeshbd.com/dailynews/detail_news_index.php?NewsID=203004&NewsType=bistarito&SectionID=home&KQT=XLKVLYFU
To add to my earlier comments, if a partisan person, like Mahmudur Rahman, can come out with the truth as the above link shows, isn’t it too pessimistic to doubt viability and success of a campaign for ‘no’ vote?
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