US embassy cable - 05DHAKA2702

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 002702 
 
SIPDIS 
 
CORRECTED COPY -- RIGHT MARGIN ADJUSTED, 
PARAS RE-NUMBERED 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, BG, BGD Elections 
SUBJECT: NEW CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER PROMISES NEUTRAL 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. DHAKA 02407 
 
     B. DHAKA 02666 
 
Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough, reason para 1.4 d. 
 
 1. (C) Summary.  The new Chief Election Commissioner 
says he has the tools and the commitment to do the job 
right, but his characterization of the notorious Dhaka 
10 by-election last year as free and fair calls 
into question his credibility and candor.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) On June 8, P/E counselor and intern (notetaker) 
called on recently appointed Chief Election Commissioner 
(CEC) M.A. Aziz.  EC Secretary S.M. Zakaria sat in and 
actively participated in the one-hour discussion. 
 
Challenges 
---------- 
 
3. (C) With Bangladesh's fiercely competitive political 
culture deeply rooted in "black" money and thuggery, 
Aziz said, his job is like an "active volcano." 
However, with the cooperation of the media, the 
parties, and the country as a whole, he is confident of 
success. 
 
4. (C) Asked to comment on his the six electoral reform 
proposals of previous CEC Syed (ref a), Aziz addressed 
only one, for electronic voting machines.  He stated 
that he has looked at the Indian experience, 
and that introducing such machines in Bangladesh would 
be "time consuming."  He affirmed that the EC is 
already fully independent, that the Finance Ministry is 
always responsive to EC requests for resources, and 
there is not enough time before the "2007" election 
to pursue Syed's reforms. 
 
5.(C) According to Zakaria, updating the voter list 
 -- with more than 50 million names -- will start in 
July and should conclude within nine months.  Like its 
predecessor, the new list will be on-line. 
 
A Model Election 
---------------- 
 
6. (C) Aziz praised the May 9 Chittagong mayoral 
election as a "model" because of the lack of violence 
and the broad acceptance of the results.  Asked about 
opposition Awami League (AL) allegations that the BNP 
tried to hijack the vote count at the last minute, 
Zakaria said that a two-hour delay in announcing 
results was logistical.  The tens of thousands of AL 
supporters gathered in front of city hall that night, 
he said, obstructed the conveyance by officials of 
the vote tallies from the 753 polling stations, each 
one represented by about 10 persons: a returning 
officer, polling agents, and a police escort.  When 
Zakaria explained the problem to AL SYG Abdul Jalil, 
who along with other AL leaders was at CEC 
headquarters in Dhaka scrutinizing the process, Jalil 
phoned his colleagues in Chittagong and paths were 
created for the polling officials. 
 
Dhaka 10 - Free and Fair 
------------------------ 
 
7. (C) Asked how he'd confront the sort of problems 
that plagued the notorious Dhaka 10 by-election last 
summer, when observers witnessed multiple, large-scale 
irregularities on behalf of the BNP candidate, Aziz 
attributed the loss of the opposition candidate -- 
Abdul Manan of Bikalpa Dara -- to poor organization 
within Manan's party and weak support from the Awami 
League.  Manan's early statement at 0900 on polling 
day that he was withdrawing from the race showed his 
true "mindset."  (Note: Manan's announcement 
actually came around 1230.)  Moreover, he said, 
Election Commissioner Shafiqur Rahman, who was 
supervising the election and who is a "die-hard Awami 
Leaguer," has assured Aziz that the election was free 
and fair.  Aziz said he is comfortable with that 
judgment. 
 
Comment 
-------- 
 
8. (C) Aziz, a judge from the appellate division 
of the supreme court, is imperious and self-confident. 
His assertion that the Dhaka 10 by-election was free 
and fair calls into serious question his credibility 
and candor. 
THOMAS