No Free And Fair Election Is Possible In A Dictatorship Not Even An Elected Dictatorship
R.M.B. Senanayake
For the first time people protesting against the ruling government have opposed elections. It is in Thailand. It is really interesting to ask the question why since they want to change the government. Is it because they do not have any faith in elections due to the failure of the incumbent governments in several countries in Asia to hold free and fair elections? Or is it because the protesters think they do not constitute the majority who are not with them in their attitude to the government? I think people have lost faith in elections. This constitutes a dangerous situation for it means change of government through an election will no longer commend credibility. It means the risk of civil protests and even violence to change a government which is unpopular.
We too have failed to ensure a free and fair election procedure. The incumbent party uses the public resources such as state employees, State owned vehicles, State properties for their benefit and secure an unfair advantage. They even harass the opponents and deny meeting places for the opponents by bringing pressure on the owners of premises. So governments rig elections to win.
The former Soviet Union held elections regularly and the Communist Party obtained almost 100% of the votes. They thought the people were with the party but they did not hold free and fair elections. So the Communists continued to rule assuming their popularity until the 1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. By 1989 the Communist Party’s hold in Soviet Union began to crumble.
The provision for setting up an Election Commission under whom the commissioner of Elections would function has been ignored by governments that held power. So did the present regime. But more and more people are beginning to realize that a government that rigs elections is resorting to the use of their power illegally an unethically.
In Bangladesh there was a provision that elections should be conducted by a caretaker government. But after winning a landslide victory in 2008 the Awami League of Sheik Hasina used its big parliamentary majority to amend the Constitution and do away with this requirement. So the Bangladesh National Party of Khaleda Zia boycotted the election. So democracy has ended in Bangladesh.Read More
