NEW CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER PROMISES NEUTRAL

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 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