The authority to administer elections in different countries normally vests either in a government department/ministry or with special institutions created solely for this purpose. The nature of the election management body which in Bangladesh we call Election Commission depends on both the backgrounds of its members and the mandate prescribed by law. In some countries these bodies are responsible for conducting all aspects of the electoral processes. In some cases, however, other electoral matters i.e. the demarcation of boundaries are the responsibilities of bodies (Boundary Commission) established to deal exclusively with such matters. Positions in the election management body are normally filled in different ways. Two main approaches are a) by appointing persons not affiliated to political parties and b) by appointing representatives of political parties.

These two approaches may have a heavy influence on the manner in which the election management body (EMB) operates. Where party representatives are appointed as members of the EMB, the integrity of the process is likely to be jeopardised. A much more constructive approach is the appointment of individuals who are not members of political parties. In most of the countries, the legal framework requires that for a person to qualify to be appointed a member of the independent electoral commission (IEC) he/she must not be associated with any organisation that sponsors candidates for election to a public office. Any person who is employed by the commission to perform any aspect of the commission's operations can qualify to contest an election only for certain period of time. Such measures for selecting the personnel for the EMB lay the foundation for enhancing the operational independence of the organisation.

Control over elections is vested in various levels of government, as the existing practices in different nations of the world indicate. In unitary countries such as Great Britain and France, elections are administered by the Home Secretary / Minister of the Interior. In some federal systems, such as the United States, authorities in the states or provinces are in control. At the local level in the United States, those immediately responsible for the election administration are the county boards of elections or city clerks or similar body may be with different names.. These are locally elected officials. In France departmental prefects and sub-prefects, acting as local executive officials but at the same time appointed by and responsible to the Ministry of Interior, administer the election. They act under the supervision of the constitutional Council. In Britain "returning officers" appointed by and responsible to the Crown are in control at the polling places themselves. Administration is usually in the hands of local officials. Bipartisan precinct boards perform this function in the United States.

An independent election commission is generally considered to be an essential element for the management and conduct of free and fair multi-party elections. This is because, that body is charged with the responsibility of organising elections, and the efficient management of the election machinery is a major factor in achieving the conduct of a free and fair election. In practice, the public perception of an electoral commission's independence depends largely on its constitutional status and particularly on the method of appointment to and removal from office of membership of the commission. .

Election Management Body has to handle the huge and costly events like organising the elections and management of the electoral process which influences the manner in which the rest of the world views a country's commitment to democracy. The level of responsibilities that rest with the election administrators and their staff are great and as such it must have working independence and non partisan character for effectiveness and accountability both as a management organisation and as a service deliverer.

Some recent experiences of organizing elections in the developing countries where multi party systems are in place show that sufficient constitutional guarantees for the independence of their Election Management Body are really essential for conducting an effective and credible election. This is needed for retaining the confidence of all political parties. Another important aspect of the election management body should be its own non partisan character as it should not care about who wins or loses the elections it is conducting. The main interest of such bodies should be in establishing a level playing field on which candidates and parties may compete and also declaring the results without prejudice towards any party or candidate. For attaining this, the key personnel of the organisation should be selected very carefully so that they act impartially and enjoy the confidence of all parties and players in the field of the electoral games.

All operations and activities of the election management body should be transparent so that the participating parties can oversee those, should they desire so. Accountability of all actions at all levels is also needed for its effectiveness.

In order to make the body properly tuned to deliver the services, it should constantly review the law it administers and the ways in which it guides its own personnel, political parties, candidates and voters about the electoral process. It should ensure that the electoral law is faithfully administered and that all candidates, parties and voters are treated equally and fairly. It should also consider how best to inform and educate the voters about the electoral process. But what about the recent activities of the Bangladesh Election Commission specially the role being played by the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission Secretariat in making preparations for conducting the next parliamentary election of the country scheduled to be held in January, 2007? Is it the indication of their neutrality ? As it stands now, will the world community accept the credibility of the election to be conducted by them?

The structure and powers of the organisation in charge of electoral administration and supervisory arrangements for ensuring the efficient and impartial functioning of the electoral machinery are of crucial importance for an honest working arrangement of the electoral system. Besides, the integrity of the electoral system and of the electoral process is the very foundation of democratic legitimacy. The electoral authority must have wide powers to discharge its responsibilities. It should be kept in mind that the electoral authority must not act arbitrarily without consulting the administrative authorities, political parties and candidates on important electoral issues. Political neutrality and integrity are vital concerns in the over all management of electoral affairs. The action by the electoral machinery dealing with elections must enjoy the confidence of the people. And finally the main concern of the Election Management body should be to ensure that the people and the political parties participating in the election must own that election.

In Bangladesh, the Election Commission Secretariat is under the control of the Prime Minister's Office and naturally one cannot expect an impartial and non-partisan behaviour from them as has been made public by the recent past secretary and present Election Commissioner Mr. S.M. Zakaria.

"Universal" suffrage implies that all recognised members of a community have the right to vote. "Equal" suffrage suggests that the vote of each of those members counts the same. Governments, therefore, have an obligation both to ensure that people have an opportunity to choose their representatives by voting and to ensure that illegal voting or other manipulations do not destroy the equality of each person's vote.

Moreover, the foundation of a good and fair election is grounded on a proper register of voters. A good register is one that, as far as humanly possible, includes the names of all eligible persons and correctly places in their constituency or the polling area where they should be. The personnel who are charged with the preparation of such a register need obviously to demonstrate impartiality and ability to ensure that the interest of democracy is served and the confidence in the electoral system is effectively maintained and enhanced. To do this both the letter and the spirit of the electoral laws must be strictly enforced. The revising officers and their assistants must, therefore, ene existing electoral laws has undertaken an unnecessary expensive project to make a new voter's list giving birth to many apprehensiosure that the voting population as a whole has a fair and easy access to the registration process. But unfortunately in Bangladesh the Election Commission, in violation of thns of ulterior motives and evil designs.

Generally speaking the preparation of the voter list is a continuous process. A continuous list of voters is one in which the electoral register is maintained and continually updated by the election administration. This system requires an appropriate infrastructure to maintain the list, adding the names and other relevant information for those who satisfy eligibility requirements (attain citizenship, reach voting age etc) and deleting the names of those who no longer meet the eligibility requirements (through death, change of residency etc). Under the continuous registry system, the voter list is normally updated, as the High Court has recently issued directives to the Bangladesh Election

Commission. And the Election Commission should come to their senses for the early compliance of the court directives without further delay at least for restoring the lost credibility of a constitutionally neutral body. When the question of credibility of a constitutionally neutral body is at stake, the Chief Election Commissioner or any other member of that commission, on being appointed to that position, has not, in any way, earned the right to play with the image of that constitutional body specially considering the fact that a negative picture of this organisation totally destroys the democratic character of the country.

Zahid Hossain is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow at Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Dhaka.