CEC dispels doubt about polls by ‘08

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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday reiterated that the Election Commission (EC) has no doubt that the election will be held by December next year and there is no reason to deviate from the electoral roadmap.

“We are very much confident of holding the parliamentary election within the time frame,” he said during the electoral reform talks with a 10-member delegation of Samyabadi Dal (ML).

About questions raised over the plan for polls to the local government bodies before the parliamentary election, he said the commission has no ulterior motive here.

“Just to see how the voter list with photographs and new electoral laws work, we have planned polls only to the city corporations and some municipalities whose tenure have expired. But as soon as we will be ready for the parliamentary election, we will stop holding polls to the local government units,” observed Huda.

He said this in response to the Samyabadi Dal leaders’ observation that the military rulers in the past had held local government polls before parliamentary election to consolidate their political base.

When his attention was drawn to over 4,500 union parishads with terms set to end by February and March, the CEC said the commission is not concerned about holding polls to such a huge number of union parishads.

He said, “As soon as the voter list is prepared we will move to announce the schedule for election. We’ll ask the government for assistance. The constitution too says that it is the government’s duty to assist the commission in discharging its responsibilities.”

He said, “It’s true that recent natural disasters have caused us some trouble in voter registration in the affected areas. We had to postpone voter listing in Patuakhali and Barguna, but it is going on in full swing elsewhere in the country.”

The poll chief said the EC has already had one crore voters on the list. On average two lakh people are listed as voters every day. “We will have to register six crore more. Now you do the math when the task will be completed,” he added.

About a proposal for a separate roll for the indigenous people in Chittagong Hill Tracts districts, he said it needs amendment to the constitution.

At the talks, Samyabadi Dal delegation led by its General Secretary Dilip Barua proposed that the commission bar the war criminals and anti-liberation elements from contesting the national elections in line with the growing popular demand.

In reply, the CEC said they can do nothing in this regard, only the government can take actions while people can file cases. “The commission will however abide by the court’s decision if it rules in favour of barring the war criminals from the polls.”

The party also suggested not allowing the armed forces powers to make arrests during elections, using transparent ballot boxes, annulling the ‘no-vote’ proposal, having an independent EC Secretariat and setting election expenses at Tk 3 lakh per candidate.

The two other election commissioners—Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain– explained to the delegation the EC proposals on electoral reforms.

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