VZCZCXRO5924
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKA #1357/01 3641119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291119Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8035
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1916
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON PRIORITY 2718
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 1620
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001357 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KDEM EAID BG
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH ELECTION SITREP FOR DECEMBER 29 
 
REF: DHAKA 1349 
 
DHAKA 00001357  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
------ 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Tens of millions of Bangladeshis streamed to the 
polls on 12/29 for Parliamentary elections; the day was 
largely free of the violence that plagued previous votes. 
Embassy and other election observers reported only relatively 
minor glitches at polling centers before they closed at 1600 
local time (0500 Washington). Political parties raised some 
allegations of fraud, mismanagement, intimidation and 
favoritism, but there was no early evidence of widespread, 
systemic problems. Definitive results of the election rematch 
between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party 
(BNP), led respectively by former prime ministers Sheikh 
Hasina and Khaleda Zia, would likely be available early in 
the morning of 12/30, local time. Several Bangladeshi voters 
thanked Embassy officers for strong U.S. support for free, 
fair and credible elections. The real test, however, will be 
whether the parties accept the results peacefully and whether 
the winning party allows the losing party to play a 
meaningful role in government. 
 
----------------------------- 
FESTIVE, VIOLENCE-FREE VOTING 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Bangladeshis turned out in large numbers to vote in 
the first Parliamentary election in seven years. Lengthy 
voter queues snaked outside many polling centers, and Chief 
Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda predicted turnout 
would reach as high as 75 percent. The atmosphere was festive 
despite the long waits, in large part because the vote was 
generally free of the violence that wracked previous 
elections. Although media reports of partisan kerfuffles 
trickled in from several areas, they generally involved few 
people and were quickly quelled. Likewise, claims of voter 
list discrepancies affected only a small percentage of the 80 
million registered voters. (Note: Two years earlier, a 
military-backed Caretaker Government imposed emergency rule 
amid widespread political violence in the run-up to elections 
scheduled for January 2007. The Caretaker Government 
subsequently delayed the vote and focused on creating an 
environment for free elections and on ridding Bangladesh of 
endemic corruption and political violence. End note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
EMBASSY OBSERVERS, AMBASSADOR REPORT ONLY MINOR PROBLEMS 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶3. (U) Six three-member teams of Embassy observers, one team 
for each of Bangladesh's divsions, reported generally smooth 
voting. A team of National Democratic Institute observers led 
by former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Howard Schaffer also 
reported only minor problems, as did many prominent 
politicians contacted by PolOffs throughout the day. 
Observers said officials at several polling centers had 
trouble finding individual names on the master rolls because 
party representatives provided incorrect registration 
information to voters. Although the discrepancies led to some 
delays, Schaffer said they were "not that big a deal." More 
ominously, one senior Bangladeshi reporter said he received 
reports from around the country that politicians were buying 
votes as in the past, although the allegations were difficult 
to prove. Front-page media reports on Election Day reported 
the police discovered 4.15 million taka (about USD 60,000), 
allegedly to buy votes, hidden in soybean oil cans in a car 
belonging to a candidate's son-in-law. 
 
¶4. (U) Meanwhile, Ambassador Moriarty visited four polling 
centers in Dhaka where presiding officers told him operations 
went smoothly. At one polling center in Shakhari Bazar in Old 
Dhaka, a predominantly Hindu area, smiling voters told the 
Ambassador the election would be free and fair. At another 
polling center in an area of mostly lower income voters, 
elderly and disabled persons had difficulty going up several 
floors to vote and required assistance from friends and 
relatives. The Ambassador summed up his generally positive 
impressions in a live interview with Al Jazeera's English 
Channel. 
 
-------------------------------- 
ON TO THE VOTE COUNT AND RESULTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Perhaps the greatest test will come after polls close, 
when votes are tabulated and the two major political parties 
 
DHAKA 00001357  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
react to the results. (Note: Polls officially close at 1600 
local time but anyone in line then will be allowed to vote. 
End note.)  Although we expect partial results to be released 
throughout the night, we do not expect a clear picture of how 
the parties fared until early morning December 30. If the 
Awami League wins, as pre-election opinion polling suggests, 
all eyes will be on the BNP reaction. During the campaign, 
many BNP leaders accused the Caretaker Government of favoring 
the Awami League. More allegations of bias and irregularities 
were raised by BNP Office Secretary Mohammad Ruhul Kabir 
Rizvi at Election Day news conferences, perhaps laying the 
groundwork for a protest that, based on past experience, 
could turn violent. Still, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said 
before the polls closed that voting had been "fair, so far;" 
the son of a BNP Standing Committee member, meanwhile, told 
PolEcon Counselor democracy would be the clear winner of the 
election. 
 
------------------------ 
COMMENT: SO FAR, SO GOOD 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) The vote itself went about as well as could be 
expected, with violence at a minimum and generally only minor 
glitches at polling stations. In conversations with Embassy 
officers, several Bangladeshis expressed their gratitude for 
the U.S. Government's strong and consistent support for free, 
fair and credible elections as an important factor 
contributing to the atypical electoral calm. In meetings with 
political leaders just before the polls, Ambassador Moriarty 
stressed the importance of honoring the results of a fair 
election and rejecting the winner-take-all politics of the 
past. If the parties now heed that advice, this election 
could be a positive, historical turning point for this young, 
predominantly Muslim nation of about 150 million people. A 
transformational election could, in turn, create a more 
positive environment to pursue USG policies of supporting 
democracy, development and denial of space to terrorists. 
 
MORIARTY