901 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড শিরোনাম সূত্র তারিখ ৩৭৭৷ ইয়াহিয়ার শিখন্ডিরা পূর্ব পেট্রয়ট ৫ অক্টোবর, ১৯৭১ বাংলার নির্বাচন সম্পর্কে নিশ্চিত নয় PATRIOT, OCTOBER II, 1971 YAHYA PUPPETS IN EAST UNSURE OF POLL Having announced a plan for transfer of power General Yahya Khan is now sitting on it. He has said that elections for the 79 seats of the National Assembly from East Bengal would be held in the first week of December. The reason given for this gap of two months between the filing of nomination papers and the holding of the elections is the need to prepare new electoral rolls. Mr. Bhutto has already complained that under the pretext of preparing new electoral rolls, "progressive and patriotic elements may be eliminated from the voters' lists." In any case, the lists are only of an academic interest. The junta is certain to make sure that only its stooges are declared "elected". Any talk about the mechanics of election or ensuring their fairness or freedom sounds factions under the present circumstances. Not even a stooge party like the Jamat-eIslami thinks that fair and free elections would or could be held. Impossible To quote Professor Ghulam Azam, chief of the Jamat-e Islami in East Bengal the conditions are such that electioneering or any other political activity would be impossible in the next six months or so. Apparently the regime appears to be fully aware of this difficulty. Hence the puppet Governor Dr. A. M. Malik has been quoted as having said that "the Government will do everything possible to complete the process of elections according to the schedule. But knowing the present circumstances no one can say with certainty that they can be held according to the time-table." There is also another snag which has been noticed by political observers. This is implied in the talk that very soon many more by-elections in Bangladesh may be necessitated. Reports appearing in papers like the Pakistan Times, Lahore, and the Pakistan Observer, Dacca, have noted that very few among the 88 members of the National Assembly who have been cleared by the Government are willing to come and declare their loyalty to the regime. According to a columnist of the Pakistan Times, this would necessitate "fresh elections almost in the whole of East Bengal". The official machinery has, however, fixed dates for the by-elections only for the 79 seats which have already been declared vacant. This means that the process of electioneering would be stretched to February or March next year. General Yahya Khan has already declared that unless the elections are completed, the
