Report in The Daily Star, Oct 13, 2023
The Awami League will make an all-out effort to bring voters to the polling centres to ensure a healthy turnout in the upcoming national polls, as it believes an election with high turnout will be acceptable to the international community.
AL sources said the party believes it has 35-40 percent voters in its bank but it has to ensure these voters show up. In addition, it is planning to get 3 crore to 3.35 crore receivers of government benefits to the polling booths so that the polls have at least 50 percent turnout.
The AL men will also provide transport for the elderly voters and people with disabilities on election day.
The ruling party will form constituency- and polling centre-wise coordination committees for door-to-door campaigning and to get the voters to show up at the polling stations, party insiders said.
They said people will see vigorous door-to-door campaigning ahead of a general election after a long while.
In recent years, questions were raised about elections, be it to parliamentary seats or local government, due to poor turnout, AL leaders believe. Voters seemed to have lost interest in casting ballots, they said.
If over 50 percent turnout is ensured, it will make the election participatory no matter which party decides not to run, AL policymakers believe.
They said the next polls will not be like the ones in 2018 or 2014. In 2014, a total 153 candidates out of 300 were elected unopposed, and in 2018, AL and its allies got 90 percent of the seats.
The AL has already made a test run of the strategy in the recently-held Rajshahi City Corporation and Cox’s Bazar Municipality polls where the turnouts were 56.2 and 62.55 percent.
During the RCC polls on June 21, the polling centre-wise AL committees ensured all-out efforts to get the voters to the polling booths. They arranged rickshaw vans for transport too.
Similar measures were taken in Cox’s Bazar on June 12.
When contacted about AL’s election preparations and plans, former cabinet secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, now involved in AL election strategy, told The Daily Star that they want a free, fair and peaceful election with better turnout.
“We will go to the voters’ doors and ask them to come to the polling stations. Our target is to increase voter turnout. We took Rajshahi City Corporation and Cox’s Bazar municipality election as pilot projects to increase turnout and we got success. We will use the experience in the national polls,” he said.
According to sources, the AL would be content with a simple majority for forming a government and the party would not be gunning for a landslide win. It would be more focused on ensuring a peaceful election and a high turnout.
Once the Election Commission declares the election schedule in mid-November, the AL will announce its candidates within 15 days so that the runners get over a month for campaigning.
The sources said the AL will leave the decision on seat sharing with its partners for the eleventh hour. It will see what the BNP and its allies do.
If the BNP and its allies decide to run, AL allies will get fewer seats.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/national-elections-2024-al-aims-ensure-higher-turnout-3441791
