Voter Identity Card: A Costly and Cursedly Fantasy!


The Daily Star
25 June, 1998


IS VICs a PRACTICABLE and PRACTISE-ABLE electoral idea? We must seriously investigate the issue if we wish to prevent further erosion in our election system.

The Daily Star, 22 October 1997, reports: "The Voters Identity (ID) Card Project now remains suspended for an indefinite period three years after it was initiated, as the government thinks that 'massive irregularities' took place in the process".

In 1994, the then BNP government masterminded a Voter Identity Cards (VICs) project, scheduled to be completed by December 1995, at a cost of Tk. 300.00 core. Later, the budget was reduced to Tk. 180.00 crore and the project period was extended till June 30, 1996. All project activities were suspended indefinitely in June 1997. By the time, Tk. 97.00 crore had slipped away from the public treasury.

The Project got a big boost from the Supreme Court Bar Association's seminar, ELECTORAL REFORMS, on 06 December 1997. Dr. Kamal Hossain, in his paper: URGENT NEED FOR ELECTORAL REFORM: SOME CONCRETE PROPOSALS, strongly recommended for re-starting the project without delay. The Hon. President, too, lavished his blessing on the project.

The VICs project is thus a matter of great public concern: the previous government conceived the idea; the current one contradicts it; important personalities having SUBSTANTIAL knowledge of our election system support the idea. The project demands PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING.

The purpose for VICs is crystal-clear: Prevent false voting perpetrated through IMPERSONATION, UNDETECTABLE through usual electoral laws and customs. VICs are redundant, if impersonating voters are detectable. In the same way, VICs are meaningless, if impersonating voters are detected but cannot be prevented from voting.

How serious is the problem of IMPERSONATION in our electoral system? Some degree of impersonation does exist in our electoral system; but few people would sincerely argue that constitutes a serious problem. Impersonation did not surface as an electoral problem in the British or the Pakistan period, when people were little aware about their voting right or the importance of elections. Why should it now be a problem when we are much more conscious? Indeed, the situation can be effectively controlled by the existing electoral laws and procedures.

It's a public knowledge that our political parties have created the vicious and vehement election-rigging problems. This they have done with two methods. The first one is the fabrication of election results by the civil servants entrusted with electoral responsibilities: This takes place after voting is closed and ballot boxes are sealed and returned to appropriate authorities. Only the party in power can execute this type of rigging, because it requires active (!) or passive cooperation of our bureaucrats.

The second method - which takes place right at the polling stations - has two common techniques: (i) prevent voters from casting their votes or make them cast votes in favour of preferred candidate, either through intimidation or enticement or both; and (ii) snatch forcefully ballot papers and cast them. Political party or parties having stronger musclemen can resort to the second means.

The current electoral system of Caretaker Government appears to have eliminated the first problem; army needs to be deployed to control the second one.

The truth: Impersonation constitutes much less than a problem in our electoral system.
VIC is then an UNNECESSARY injection in our election system. If we still insist to go ahead with project (We love to make histories), we need to consider two things: (i) Can we afford it? and (ii) Should we practise it?

How much will VICs cost to the nation? Here are some rough calculations (The Star information): The original and revised budgets of the project were respectively TK. 300.00 crore and TK. 180.00 crore. The VICs project was intended to cover 20 per cent of eligible voters. The Star report, however, did not specify the budget for this coverage: The original budget or the revised one? This leads to two different estimates. Twenty per cent of the project was completed at the cost of Tk 97.00 crore. Thus, the completion of the current project would have costed Tk. (97.00/0.20)= 485.00 crore and the full-scale implementation of the project (covering all eligible voters) would cost Tk. (485.00/0.20)= 2425.00 crore. If the original budget is used, then the figure should be inflated as the revised budget is only 60 per cent of the original one. The estimated project cost is: Tk. (2425.00/0.60)= 4042.00 crore.

The final estimation of project costs needs two more adjustments: (i) adding costs incurred by individual voters and (ii) adjusting the figures for inflation and increased number of voters.

How practical is the project? About 80 per cent of our population live in rural areas, most of them are poor and illiterate; communication and transportation systems are rudimentary; and finally, one-half of the eligible voters are women, many of whom are forbidden from taking pictures for religious customs.

Besides these, there is an outrageous PRESUMPTION in the whole matter: Our 'patriotic' politicians and 'brilliant' bureaucrats will set the rules and their law-abiding citizens will just follow. People have little interests in elections as they have little bearing on their welfare. How would voters, who are already annoyed with elections, react when they have to get VIC to exercise their Right? It may be mentioned that voters' turn-out in elections of even most democratic societies is seldom greater than 60 per cent.

The VIC scenario may be summarized as follows: (i) Our electoral system is indeed suffering from diabolic rigging problems, created entirely by our politicians; (ii) false voting through undetectable impersonation is much less than a problem; it can be effectively controlled with existing electoral laws and customs; (iii) the project would cost huge public and private resources that is neither affordable nor justifiable; and (iv) the project is literally unpracticable.

The truth: Given the nature of costs and consequences, a full-scale implementation of VIC project would further erode our election system, instead of improving it.

The conclusion that logically follows: The VIC project is a costly and cursedly fantasy of our patriotic politicians and brilliant bureaucrats! I have my own problem with the project: As a citizen of Bangladesh, I am part of her SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY. It is my moral and political responsibility to participate in elections to select our representatives. I am truly forestalled in the performance of my responsibility: I have been identified as a CHEATER and asked to obtain a VIC. If there is any problem with our election system, I am not any way responsible for it; but I am being blamed and made to suffer. This is an insult in my personal integrity and an encroachment in my sovereign authority. How could I SWALLOW this insult and audacity? If VIC is made mandatory, I SHALL NEVER BE ABLE TO VOTE, BECAUSE I WILL NOT OBTAIN A VIC.

The final note: I am not surprised by Dr. Kamal Hossain's argument. Our politicians tend to avoid truth and cook up issues that, instead of improving the situation, further worsen it. But I am confused by our Hon. President's position. He is a man of honour and integrity. I do not know how he could support such a project!

A former Associate Professor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, the writer is now a landed immigrant in Canada.




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Update: 26 June 1998

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