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Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has condemned the attempt by the Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader to associate TIB with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for expressing doubts over participatory elections.
Responding to the comment made by Obaidul Quader, who is also the road transport and bridges minister, suggesting that the TIB is towing the BNP’s line, the TIB said that this is, on the one hand, self-embarrassing for him and, on the other, reflects a mindset that treats all critics as political opponents.
In response to Obaidul Quader’s remarks where TIB considers the likelihood of a truly inclusive election to have been ruled out as assessed by all available political and electoral indicators before and after the announcement of the election schedule, Executive Director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman said, “It should not be unknown to the learned Minister that an inclusive election can be held only in a situation where a level playing field for all aspiring parties and candidates is ensured through a neutral, non-partisan, and conflict-of-interest-free role of the Election Commission, Election Time Government, administration, and law enforcement agencies.”
TIB also clarified, “TIB is an apolitical entity with no affiliations to any political party. It was deeply disappointing to hear such unfounded statements from a key minister of the state and the second-in-command of the ruling political party”.
At the same time, TIB added that while such allegations were neither surprising nor unnerving, they marked a recurrent trend where both major political entities, the Awami League and the BNP, responded with hostility whenever TIB’s research reports or recommendations challenged their interests.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman further stated, “TIB's position remains unwaveringly neutral when it comes to political alignments. Our focus is on fostering a corruption-free, democratic, and well-governed Bangladesh. We had faced hostilities previously; during the BNP-led four-party alliance government, threats of closure and legal actions from 64 districts were issued against us. This year too, there were malicious disinformation campaigns on social media platforms from the BNP-affiliated groups against Transparency International, TIB, and its officials.”
He concluded, “TIB stands firm in its commitment to democracy and good governance, opposing anti-democratic forces. The ongoing opportunistic hostilities from the two major political parties only served to highlight the neutrality of our organisation.”