voa标准英语2008-Bangladesh Mobilizes Security Forces Ahead of Cr
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Bangladesh is putting hundreds of thousands of uniformed personnel and civilian1 monitors onto the streets in hopes of securing a fair and peaceful election Monday. The national parliamentary balloting2 is to clear the way for the government caretakers, installed by the army in early 2007, to return power to a democratically elected government. |
| Police officers frisk a man who arrives to attend a rally addressed by Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, 26 Dec 2008 |
For Bangladesh this will be the third try at democracy since the country won independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The military-backed government, in place for nearly two years, in one of its final acts, has sent the army onto the streets after the lifting of emergency law to try to ensure a peaceful election.
Keeping the Peace
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| Bangladesh Nationalist Party, (BNP) supporters march in Dhaka, 26 Dec 2008 |
In past elections, rallies would often end with violent clashes between supporters of the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. An estimated 600,000 enforcement officers and soldiers this time are trying to keep peace and there appears to be serious restraint by the parties to keep their supporters in line.
The actual balloting will be scrutinized3 by 200,000 monitors and 2,000 foreign observers.
The chairman of the National Election Observation Council, university professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, told VOA the observers should help mitigate4 any attempts at rigging the results.
"It'll boost confidence in the process. We know that the whole world is looking at us. Apart from them we the local observers are here. So if you combine both the national and international effort, we get a real sort-of confidence-building measure, he said.
The parliamentary election is meant to restore democracy and usher5 in a new era, hopefully devoid6 of the corruption7 and violence of the past.
The Next PM: Hasina or Zia?
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| Former prime minister Shaikh Hasina of the Awami League, 26 Dec 2008 |
It is almost certain that the next prime minister will be either Sheik Hasina of the Awami League or the BNP's Kaleda Zia. The two women, known as the "Battling Begums" for their fierce rivalry8, have each previously9 served as prime minister. Both were jailed by the interim10 government on graft11 charges.
One survey found that about 150 candidates are either facing murder or corruption charges. But Professor Kalimullah said criminal suspects are free to contest the election until their appeals to the Supreme12 Court are exhausted13.
"Both the parties, they have candidates like them. And those people were tried under state of emergency by kangaroo courts, quote, unquote. So those are doubtful sort of verdicts, as well," he said.
What also still remains14 in doubt is, despite the best effort of the election commission and the caretaker government, whether Monday's balloting can be conducted fairly and peacefully. Also critical for the return to democracy: the losers accepting the outcome and agreeing to challenge the next government in parliament rather than on the streets.
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