With the 12th parliamentary election just a day away, the ruling Awami League has taken all the necessary measures to demonstrate the polls will be free, fair, participatory, and acceptable, while its archrival BNP is making the last-ditch attempts to disprove that.

The Awami League, its 14-party alliance members, some of its like-minded parties, and the Jatiya Party, which is the main opposition in parliament, are participating in the elections.

On the other hand, the major opposition BNP, some of its like-minded parties, and a few other leftist ones have boycotted the polls. They have for months been carrying out a movement demanding the government’s resignation, the dissolution of parliament, and that elections be held under a non-party administration.

Of the 44 registered parties, 28, including the Awami League, are contesting the elections, while the remaining 16, including the BNP, have opted out.

The ruling party has fielded candidates in 263 constituencies, while its partners in the 14-party alliance – Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), Workers Party of Bangladesh, and Jatiya Party (Manju) – are vying to be elected in six seats with the boat symbol.

And a record number of independent candidates are also contesting the polls

As part of a consensus with the Jatiya Party, which has fielded candidates in 279 seats, the Awami League has withdrawn MP aspirants from 26 constituencies.

But the Jatiya Party candidates have already boycotted elections in around 40 constituencies raising different allegations against the party’s central command. They have also claimed that the election atmosphere is not favourable. Besides, over 200 candidates of the party remain inactive in the race.  

There is a carefree attitude among the Awami League candidates as the other parties’ contestants could not create a competitive situation through campaigns.

The Election Commission has completed all the necessary preparations to hold the elections as a huge number of law enforcers and members of the armed forces have been deployed across the country to ensure a peaceful atmosphere.

A total of 1,970 candidates are going to contest in 299 seats as the Election Commission has suspended polls in the Naogaon-2 constituency. The candidates of the ruling party are ahead of others in the race and expecting to form the government for the fourth consecutive term. There are 11,96,91,633 voters in the country.

Insiders said the Awami League has taken steps to encourage voters to go to polling stations and exercise their voting rights. Its leaders think if people cast their votes, the elections will be acceptable both at home and abroad. 

They are also updating the international community regularly on the party’s election activities. They held a meeting with the election observers of the Commonwealth and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday and discussed the latest situation.

Party sources said the Awami League members remain alert to the activities of the opposition parties in the run-up to the elections. The ruling party will build resistance with the help of law enforcers if anyone tries to obstruct voters or create chaos outside polling stations.   At the same time, the ruling party has taken various initiatives online and offline to ensure maximum voter turnout.

Sources said 40,000 polling station-based committees formed by the Awami League and around three lakh trained activists are working across the country to encourage citizens to exercise their right to vote. Besides, local Awami League members have been asked to bring at least 200 voters from every area to polling stations.

“People are enthusiastic about the polls. They want to exercise their voting rights,” Awami League Presidium Member Kazi Zafar Ullah, also the co-chairman of the party’s election steering committee, told the Daily Sun.

BNP’s activities

Apart from holding anti-government demonstrations for months, the BNP and its allies have prepared to prove the election non-participatory and unacceptable. They want to show that it is a lopsided election without the opposition parties’ participation.

BNP members distributed leaflets and held mass contact programmes across the country in the last few days, exhorting people to boycott the polls and not to go to polling stations on election day.

At the same time, the party’s foreign affairs committee held a series of meetings with diplomats to inform them that the government was going to hold a “dummy” election without the participation of the major opposition.

A 48-hour nationwide hartal called by the BNP and its allies began this morning. In the last two months, they enforced several phases of hartals and blockades as part of their movement.  

“We call upon the people to boycott the 7 January dummy election for the sake of the country and the nation. People have already become involved in our movement. We believe this election will not be acceptable at home and abroad,” BNP senior leader Abdul Moyeen Khan told the Daily Sun.

The BNP and its allies marched in different parts of the country to protest against the polls on Friday. It also called for a universal boycott of the elections at a press briefing.