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In most Third World countries, elections are far from free and fair. Elections in these countries are marred by allegations of vote-rigging and fraud. The governing party sometimes uses all the means at its disposal to manipulate the result in its favour. We have seen how the re-election of Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabawe has only added to the political crisis.
   In Bangladesh, elections have failed to produce the desired political stability as the parties continue to question the validity of the result.
   Reason for this persistent political crisis are said to be poverty of the masses, low literacy rate and endemic corruption among the ruling elites.
   But Italy is an advanced industrial nation, enjoying high standard of living and near complete literacy rate. Naturally, Italy should be frontrunner in conducting free and fair elections. Yet, the latest election has shown this is far from the case. In this highly controversial election, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forga Italaia coalition lost narrowly to former Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s centre-left coalition party. But Berlusconi refused to accept the result. Any pretence of normality had been swept aside by Berlusconi’s charge of ‘vote-rigging’ by the opposition (how can opposition rig the election when Berlusconi is prime minister and controls all levers of government?).
   According to Berlusconi, the irregularities were ‘in just one direction,’ against his centre-right coalition. They were serious enough, he claimed, to justify a recount ‘without time limits.’
   Inevitably, such a claim was rejected by the opposition centre-left coalition which believed that it has won the election. It is difficult not to fear an Italian Florida, similar to deadlock between George W Bush and Al Gore that in 2000 left so much confusion over the election of Bush.
   But unlike the US, where Gore conceded to Bush, Berlusconi was in no mood to concede even though partial recounts had given Prodi a slight lead.
   The result was two Italies that were even more divided that they were during the election campaign. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is also Italy’s richest tycoon whose company Finivest controls most of Italy’s media and he used his media outlets to vilify the opposition.
   Although under his watch, Italy’s economy has suffered, Berlusconi blamed Prodi who was a professor of economics as inept without any idea about running the economy.
   To complicate the matter, Prodi had won by a tiny majority of 25,000 votes of an electorate of 40 million voters. The razor-thin margin of Prodi’s victory troubled most political observers.
   Even though Romano Prodi is allowed to become prime minister, his centre-left coalition is unlikely to survive for long and the Italians may have to go to the polls again and Berlusconi’s assault on the Italian democracy might continue if he loses again. Continuing political crisis shows democracy remains fragile even in a rich country like Italy. This should be a warning to US President George W Bush who is trying to bring democracy in Iraq at gunpoint.
   Mahmood Elahi
   Ottawa, Canada

Barbaric assault on the journalists at the stadium in Chittagong reminded us of the fact that our police force is still living with the colonial frame of mind. They haven’t conformed to the postcolonial norms of
   free thoughts and the democratic fabrics of society.
   That DC port police officer’s action on the elderly journalist is simply demonic that demeans and reveals their corrupt and colonial mindset. Their brutality that day was more than medieval and such acts are a common phenomenon with them towards the people that do not draw attention at times. Their brutal attack on the journalists that day not only defamed the whole system but also put the whole nation into an irreparable shame. The whole world probably watched that awesome act through satellite telecast.
   Punishment for the atrocity has been mere ‘closing’ of the police in question. It is regrettable that for a violation of human rights and putting the nation into shame this sort of light measure has been adopted which, experts believe, will not deter the atrocity of the police rather it will make them more ferocious in the near future.
   We strongly condemn the barbaric act by the police and demand a stern and exemplary punishment for the persons in questions.
   Rafiqul Islam Rime
   Agrabad, Chittagong

The way government has unleashed a rein of terror in the name of controlling the on-going movement by the opposition is deplorable. We call ourselves a democratic country and our prime minister is a democratically elected one. Does she think that her administration is doing things in the right manner in handling the political situation?
   In a democratic country everybody has the right to express what he/she thinks to be right. But the case is completely opposite in our country. Here people, who raise their voices against any wrongdoings of the government, are dealt with in a high-handed manner. The government must understand the true meaning of democracy and handle the situation accordingly.
   What democracy means in its true sense is not to resort to anarchism. Both the ruling and opposition parties should sit together and chalk-out plans and resolve their current disputes through discussions instead of resorting to the path of violence and destruction.
   It is said that the country comes first, not the political parties. So in the greater interest of the country let us shun the path of violence and work in harmony to uphold the true essence of democracy.
   Humayun Hyder
   Zigatola, Dhaka