Editorial
NCC polls
Power to the people
If there is one lesson learnt from the Narayanganj City Corporation mayoral polls, it is that the people are the ultimate master of politics. Because the people willed it, the maneuvering and manipulation by the ruling party -- including the ruling party candidate's attempt to spread panic through warnings of a possible militant attack -- had no bearing on how the people cast their votes. Indeed, the NCC polls are a testament to the fact that a genuine political leader, one with strong public support, cannot be ignored, that too, without damaging party credibility.
The media too have been vindicated in the process for their stance against the ruling party candidate, his controversial past and alleged links to the underworld and a range of illegal activities, in contrast to whom the mayor elect was seen as a hero, especially when she failed to get the backing of her own party in the elections.
During the election process, the ambiguous and angular relationship between the Election Commission and the government came forth, however. The government's decision not to deploy the army -- which many feared would cause violence and vote rigging during the polls -- may ultimately have come as a boon in increasing public confidence in the police, Ansar and Rab, who assisted in the holding of a free and fair election without the presence of the army. Even so, the government's decision not to accede to the request of the Election Commission to deploy the army, which has been labeled a constitutional violation, clearly undermines the Election Commission as an institution.
There have been many warning signs for the ruling party since its landslide victory almost three years ago. The NCC polls results come as a significant message yet again that, no matter what, power ultimately lies with the people.
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