Something appears to have gone seriously wrong with Bangladesh's election dispute process
The absence of any election recounts, with requests allegedly refused, will allow grievances to fester
Bangladeshi law permits both returning officers and presiding officers to order recounts at any polling station, prior to the gazetting of results, upon receiving a written request from a contesting candidate setting out “reasonable grounds.” These powers are set out in sections 36(5) and 37(5)(1) of the Representation of the People Order 1972 (as amended).
Yet, to the best of current knowledge, not a single returning officer or presiding officer agreed to conduct a recount at any polling centre.
Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, Head of the Publicity and Media Department of Jamaat-e-Islami, claims that his party submitted written requests for recounts in 32 constituencies, citing alleged irregularities. According to him, all were refused.
As a result, he says, the party has now been compelled to seek redress before the High Court.
However, applications to the High Court are not designed to function as appeals for recount.
Section 51(2) of the RPO, only allows the petitioner to ask the High Court to order one of three things:
- The election of the returned candidate is void;
- The election of the returned candidate is void and that the petitioner or some other person has been duly elected; or
- That the election as a whole is void.
The statute does not expressly provide for the High Court to order a simple recount as a standalone remedy.
Moreover, it is far from clear that the evidence currently said to be in Jamaat’s possession would meet the legal threshold required for the court to void an election – a serious remedy.
As a result, there is very unlikely to be a proper resolution of the underlying concerns, the need for a recount so that the vote numbers can be double-checked
Disputes over vote counting should, as a matter of principle, be resolved before results are finalised and formally gazetted.
In many jurisdictions, constituency-level recounts are not unusual. On the contrary, they are an important safeguard, helping to ensure that candidates and parties have confidence that the counting process has been conducted fairly and transparently.
Crucially, such recounts are intended to occur before results become final – not after.
The apparent failure to utilise this mechanism has generated unnecessary tension and ill feeling, that may well fester for a very long time.
David Bergman is a journalist who has written widely on Bangladesh. He can be contacted on twitter @TheDavidBergman.
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