Bangladesh News

Reaffirming the pledge of holding the next general election as per the announced roadmap, the chief election commissioner (CEC) yesterday said, “We must have to do this and it is our promise to the nation.”

“Do or die, we must have to hold the election within 2008,” CEC ATM Shamsul Huda said while exchanging views with Peshajibi Samannoy Parishad (coalition of professional bodies) at the Election Commission (EC).

“I don’t know why people are doubtful about holding the election within 2008, ” the CEC said. “We are right on schedule and we know that credibility of the EC fully depends on holding the election within this year.”

There are no such obstacles for which the election cannot be held in line with the roadmap, Shamsul Huda told representatives of different professional bodies. “We are already fixing polling centres and training people concerned,” he added.

“We are getting tired of questions like whether the election will be held in due time or not …We don’t understand why this uncertainty occurred in people’s mind,” Huda said.

Led by Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, convener of the parishad, a 14-member delegation met the CEC and two other election commissioners.

The CEC asserted that redrawing boundaries of parliamentary constituencies would be completed by June. “If this task creates any obstacles to holding the election in due time, we will stop this or go for an alternative,” he said.

He hoped that the EC’s dialogue with political parties would end within this month.

In response to the parishad’s suggestion for declaring the polls date, he said they cannot do this until preparation of the voter list is completed.

Huda assured the delegation that transparent ballot boxes would be used in the next election. “As far as voter registration is concerned, we are right on time in spite of so many obstacles,” he said.

During the discussion, he also said, “ We are getting no indication from any quarters about not holding the election.”

On the parishad’s call for replacing the deputy commissioners as district election officers, CEC said, “It is not possible at this stage, we do not want to make experiments in this regard … And we hope that they (district election officers) will act in a neutral manner in line with the ongoing reforms.”

On polls observers, Huda said, “We don’t need a large number of election observers.”

He informed the parishad delegation that there would be a publication on the dialogue between the EC and political parties.

Huda asserted that the EC would take steps to ensure that no vote rigging takes place.

The parishad in its seven-point recommendation urged the EC to remove all confusion over holding the election according to the roadmap.

It also urged the EC to ensure that war criminals cannot take part in the election.