Adverse reports related to interference by Bangladesh’s DGFI and NSI officers in favour of Awami League candidates in three districts were shared by the respective joint district judges with the Election Commission (EC) over the last one week, causing “friction” between the officials and the poll panel members over this fraught issue on January 2 and 3.

The heated exchanges of words and differences of opinion between the DGFI and NSI officers on one hand and EC members on another led one senior poll panel members, Rasheda Sultana, to protest and even threatened to resign on January 3 evening.

Earlier that day, during the course of an interaction with journalists, Sultana had said that “an election that could cause harm to the country was not at all desirable”.

Informed sources told Northeast News that joint district judges were appointed as chairmen of the Judicial Inquiry Committees (JICs) at the district level following the November 15 announcement of the election notification or tafseel.

These committees were entrusted with keeping the EC informed (through written reports) of poll code violations and other irregularities indulged in by the political parties and their candidates.

The EC, on its part, was empowered to serve show cause notices to electoral candidates and parties based on the JIC reports.

Over a period of one week, the EC received adverse reports about gross partisan functioning of DGFI and NSI officers in favour of Awami League candidates across three districts, including Rajshahi.

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In Rajshahi-2 constituency for instance, DGFI Brigadier Hasnat Shaheen and Captain Zakiul Islam are said to be “campaigning” in favour of Fazle Hussain Badshah, the Workers’ Party candidate who is contesting on the Awami League’s ‘boat’ symbol.

The EC received similar reports from a few JICs as late as January 4, three days before the country goes to the polls.

The JIC reports, according to sources, specifically mentioned the names of the DGFI and NSI officers, depending on where officers from these two agencies were found to exert their influence on behalf of Awami League candidates.

For the record, the EC had received complaints against Awami League candidate for Comilla-6 constituency Bahauddin Bahar for poll code violation towards the end of December.

He was even told to depose before the EC which subsequently fined him Taka 1 lakh. The EC had recommended that Bahar’s nomination be cancelled and the Awami League leader be disqualified. However, the DGFI intervened on his behalf and stalled the EC’s move.

However, what riled Sultana and Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal during the January 2 meeting was the DGFI, NSI and SB chiefs’ “directive” that these agencies would take control of and would themselves “oversee” the electoral proceedings in 170 of 300 constituencies.

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Sultana, according to sources, was not only upset by the intelligence agencies’ “political position” but even expressed her indignation at the three agency heads’ suggestion.

She even suggested that such a suggestion made the EC redundant and that she might as well resign. Sultana did not take phone calls by Northeast News.

On January 3 afternoon, Sultana, during an interaction with journalists at the EC’s Agargaon office, made a startling statement, saying that the poll panel members “would not prefer to conduct an election that could invite trouble for the country”, especially when it was “our moral duty to oversee an election that would be fair and acceptable to all”.

In the same breath she, however, denied that there was any “international pressure” on the EC.

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The same evening, the Bangladesh Army’s newly appointed Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Waker-uz-Zaman, Principal Staff Officer (Armed Forces Division) at the PMO, Lt Gen Mizanur Rahman Shameem, Inspector-General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Mohammad Khurshid Hossain and Coast Guard DG Rear Admiral Ashraful Huq Chowdhury met the five Election Commissioners, including Awal and Sultana, to discuss the security arrangements for the election.

The meeting, which was said to be routine, lasted between 7 pm and 9 pm.