List of Abbreviations

148 Pages·2009·2.64 MB·English

National Democratic Institute

International Observation Mission

2008/2009 Bangladesh Elections

Final Report
June 2009

Final Report on the

Bangladesh 2008/2009 Elections

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs

June 2009
Copyright © National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) 2009. All rights reserved.
Portions of this work may be reproduced and/or translated for noncommercial purposes provided that
NDI is acknowledged as the source of the material and is sent copies of any translation.

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This NDI Final Report on the Bangladesh 2008/2009 Elections is made possible by the generous
support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) Associate Cooperative Agreement Number No. 388-A-00-03-00095-00. The opinions
expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the
United States Government.”
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a nonprofit organization working
to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts,
NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices
and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic
organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in
government.

Democracy depends on legislatures that represent citizens and oversee the executive, independent
judiciaries that safeguard the rule of law, political parties that are open and accountable, and elections
in which voters freely choose their representatives in government. Acting as a catalyst for democratic
development, NDI bolsters the institutions and processes that allow democracy to flourish.

Build Political and Civic Organizations: NDI helps build the stable, broad-based and well-organized
institutions that form the foundation of a strong civic culture. Democracy depends on these mediating
institutions—the voice of an informed citizenry, which link citizens to their government and to one
another by providing avenues for participation in public policy.

Safeguard Elections: NDI promotes open and democratic elections. Political parties and governments
have asked NDI to study electoral codes and to recommend improvements. The Institute also
provides technical assistance for political parties and civic groups to conduct voter education
campaigns and to organize election monitoring programs. NDI is a world leader in election
monitoring, having organized international delegations to monitor elections in dozens of countries,
helping to ensure that polling results reflect the will of the people.

Promote Openness and Accountability: NDI responds to requests from leaders of government,
parliament, political parties and civic groups seeking advice on matters from legislative procedures to
constituent service to the balance of civil-military relations in a democracy. NDI works to build
legislatures and local governments that are professional, accountable, open and responsive to their
citizens.

International cooperation is key to promoting democracy effectively and efficiently. It also conveys a
deeper message to new and emerging democracies that while autocracies are inherently isolated and
fearful of the outside world, democracies can count on international allies and an active support
system. Headquartered in Washington D.C., with field offices in every region of the world, NDI
complements the skills of its staff by enlisting volunteer experts from around the world, many of
whom are veterans of democratic struggles in their own countries and share valuable perspectives on
democratic development.
Acknowledgements

NDI extends its gratitude to all of the members of the international observer delegations who
volunteered their time and expertise, and each of whom contributed to the success of the mission.
NDI also would like to thank the leadership group of the delegation, co-chaired by Howard B.
Schaffer, former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, and the Honorable Audrey McLaughlin, former
Member of Parliament and former leader of the New Democratic Party (Canada). The delegation
leadership also included Larry Garber, former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
mission director for West Bank/Gaza, and Peter Manikas, senior associate and NDI’s director for Asia
programs. NDI would also like to respectively recognize Telibert Laoc for his contributions as the
long-term observation coordinator and Mary Margaret Dinneen for her roles as the short-term
observation coordinator. NDI fielded 60 credentialed observers, including long and short-term
observers. The delegation consisted of political and civic leaders, regional and election experts,
media specialists, and human rights activists from 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and
North and South America.

NDI expresses deep appreciation to Bangladeshi political and civic leaders, government officials,
election commissioners, poll workers and the NDI – Dhaka staff who facilitated the work of the
delegations. Most important, NDI would like to thank the people of Bangladesh for their warmth and
hospitality.

Several persons were involved in the preparation of this report. Samuel Frantz, Md. Shahidul Islam
and Jacqueline Corcoran were responsible for much of the writing and research. We also express
gratitude to Laura Grace and Telibert Laoc who reviewed several drafts of this report.

Kenneth Wollack
President
National Democratic Institute

Peter Manikas
Senior Associate and Director of Asia Programs
National Democratic Institute
Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations
Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………………………..1
Background …………………………………………………………………………………………...2
Political and Historical Context……………………………………………………………………...4
Election Administration ……………………………………………………………………………...8
Electoral Reforms …………………………………………………………………………………...10
Voter Registration and Education ………………………………………………………………….16
Pre-Election Environment ……………………………………………………………………….….20
Election Day ………………………………………………………………………………………….25
Post-Election Period …………………………………………………………………………………28
Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………...34
Appendices

A. Results by Party for Elections in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008

B. Statement of NDI Pre-election Assessment Mission

C. NDI Preliminary Statement

D. List of NDI Delegation Members

E. European Union Preliminary Statement

F. IRI Preliminary Statement

G. ANFREL Preliminary Statement

H. Commonwealth Statement

I. Election Working Group Preliminary Statement

J. Odhikar Preliminary Statement

K. Guidelines for Foreign Election Observers

L. Declaration of Principles for International Election Observers
List of Abbreviations

AL Awami League
BCL Bangladesh Chhatra League
BNP Bangladesh Nationalist Party
BEC Election Commission
CTG Caretaker Government
EPO Emergency Powers Ordinance
EPR Emergency Powers Rules
EWG Election Working Group
HC High Court
JMB Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh
JP Jaitya Party (Ershad)
LTO Long-term observer
NDI National Democratic Institute
RAB Rapid Action Battalion
RPO Representation of the People’s Order
STO Short-term observer
UNO Upazila Executive Officer
USAID United States Agency for International Development
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following report by the staff of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
examines the parliamentary elections processes in Bangladesh, including the historical and political
contexts in which the election took place, NDI’s pre-election and election day observations, and the
upazila elections and by-elections that followed in April 2009.

On December 29, 2008, Bangladeshis voted in the first parliamentary elections since 2001, returning
the country to elected government following a military intervention in January 2007. With a record
turnout of over 87 percent, Bangladeshis demonstrated their enthusiasm for the electoral process and
delivered a clear popular mandate to the new parliament. Although the Awami League (AL) secured
49 percent of the total vote and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) 33 percent, the AL won 231
of the 300 elected seats in parliament, giving it a sizeable majority. Nevertheless, based on the vote
totals, it is clear that a significant segment of the electorate continues to support the opposition party.
In October 2006, the ruling coalition stepped down and transferred power to a caretaker government
that was to oversee elections in January 2007. The AL, however, charged the caretaker government
with bias, declared that the party would boycott the elections and organized general strikes to force a
postponement. Mass unrest and violence between the two groups may have been averted when
Bangladesh’s military leaders, on January 11, forced the president to postpone the elections, declare a
state of emergency and step down as head of the government. The new military-backed caretaker
government announced an ambitious campaign of political reform to prepare the country for a return
to democratic politics, including a pledge to hold local and national polls by the end of 2008. The
interim government's accomplishments were mixed, although it succeeded in promulgating 122 new
ordinances to be ratified later by the parliament. Despite criticism from the BNP, the Bangladesh
Election Commission (BEC) generally earned a reputation for impartiality and competence through its
consultations with political parties.
Pre-election violence was isolated and local in nature. Police, government officials and local party
members worked effectively to prevent and contain campaign and election day violence. Post-
election violence was similarly localized, except for serious incidents on the campuses of several
universities.
The BEC should be commended for several important reforms. The commission produced a digitized
voter list that was the most accurate in the country’s history and contributed to the credibility and
efficiency of the electoral process. It also completed the country’s first comprehensive delimitation of
constituencies since independence and enacted procedures that increased transparency in finances and
fundraising.
NDI’s 60 international observers were impressed by the overall conduct of the elections. Poll workers
were committed, knowledgeable and present, and there was little evidence of fraud. Although there
were processes that could be improved, observers saw no evidence of a pattern of infractions that
would prejudice the elections. More than 181,000 domestic observers played an important role in
providing additional oversight of the electoral process.
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BACKGROUND

NDI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has conducted more than 100 pre-
election, election day and post-election observation missions around the world. In Bangladesh, NDI
previously observed parliamentary elections in 1991, 1996 and 2001, as well as by-elections and local
polls. NDI has worked in Bangladesh since 1988 and maintained an office in Dhaka since 1995.
Financial support for the NDI observation mission was provided by the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID).

The Institute’s elections program consisted of three elements. In November, a pre-election
assessment mission visited Dhaka to meet with key government officials, political party leaders and
civil society representatives. The mission included Sam Gejdenson, former U.S. representative and
current NDI board member; the Honorable Saumura Tioulong, member of the National Assembly of
Cambodia; and Peter Manikas, senior associate and regional director for NDI’s Asia programs. Also
in November, NDI deployed 20 long-term observers (LTOs) from 13 countries to 10 districts across
Bangladesh to report on political developments and election preparations. In December, the long-
term observers were joined by a short-term observation delegation, for a total of 60 accredited
observers. The NDI short-term delegation was co-chaired by Howard B. Schaffer, former U.S.
ambassador to Bangladesh, and the Honorable Audrey McLaughlin, former member of parliament
and former leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. The delegation leadership also included
Larry Garber, former USAID mission director for West Bank/Gaza, and Peter Manikas. The
observation mission was supported by the NDI/Bangladesh field office, led by Senior Resident
Director Jacqueline Corcoran.

NDI’s field office in Bangladesh has worked to support a credible return to elected government since
the January 11, 2007, military intervention. In addition to conducting the election observation, the
Institute conducted political party outreach throughout the country to monitor developing issues with
political parties and government officials, conducted a local voter registration dialogue program
bringing together political party leaders and election officials to monitor the registration process, and
held a series of dialogues with the political parties and election commission officials moderated by
international experts on election-related issues. The Institute promoted the greater participation of
women in political leadership and campaigns by initiating a women’s alliance. The Institute also
conducted a series of multi-party issue conferences for political and civil society leaders on strategies
and challenges in developing policies that directly affected the citizens of Bangladesh in the areas of
food security, parliamentary strengthening and women’s political empowerment.

The 20 long-term observers arrived in Bangladesh on November 20. After two days of briefings in
Dhaka, the LTOs divided into 10 teams and deployed to the following districts across Bangladesh:
Rangpur, Rajshahi, Bogra, Faridpur, Barisal, Khulna, Mymensing, Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong.
From November 23 to December 24, LTO teams met with a wide range of Bangladeshis in their
assigned districts, including election officials, security officials, local government officers, journalists,
civil society organizations and voters. In total, NDI long-term observers held 249 meetings with
political party leaders and candidates, 60 meetings with local election commission officials, 53
meetings with local media and 82 meetings with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 78
constituencies. During these meetings, observers discussed the overall political environment and
electoral preparations in their districts, and submitted weekly written reports to NDI in Dhaka. NDI
shared the general content of these reports with representatives of the international community during
the period leading up to the national election.
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