3,000 appeals filed with Election Commission

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Near about 3,000 appeals have been filed with the Election Commission (EC) till yesterday — the last day for the filing of appeals against re-demarcation of 51 parliamentary constituencies.

This is by far the largest number of such appeals filed by leaders of various political parties following the EC’s move to re-demarcate 133 constituencies before the next parliamentary elections.

Earlier in 1984, when the EC took steps to redraw parliamentary constituencies, only 307 appeals were received by the EC.

The latest re-demarcation plan of the EC was unveiled on April 29 this year amid growing opposition from major political parties that maintain that the move will create obstacles to holding the upcoming ninth parliamentary polls by the yearend, as announced in the electoral roadmap.

“We’ve received around 3,000 appeals, many of which do not even have merit. We will start hearing the appeals from June 8,” Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain told reporters yesterday at EC Secretariat.

The EC has plans to complete the hearings by June 25 and by the end of June, it would publish a final list of parliamentary constituencies that are to be redrawn, said the election commissioner.

The EC yesterday held a meeting and discussed issues pertaining to the commencement of the appeal hearings. The commission will meet again today to finalise the procedure and schedule for the hearings.

Meeting sources said the EC is for using fresh election materials in the parliamentary polls. The materials purchased earlier for the postponed ninth parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 22, 2007, would be used for local government elections, added the sources.

Directed by the EC, its secretariat is now making preparations to hold elections at four city corporations and seven municipalities in the third week of July.

Asked about the schedule for upazila parishad elections, Election Commissioner Sakhawat said the schedule would be announced as soon as it is finalised.

The EC decided in principle to hold the upazila parishad elections, but it has yet to fix any timeframe for the elections.

Asked whether the latest crackdown on grassroots political leaders would create any obstacle to holding the local government elections, Sakhawat declined to make any comment.

MOVE TO REGISTER EXPATRIATE VOTERS
In an effort to register eligible Bangladeshi voters living abroad, the EC finally made a draft proposal to amend the electoral rolls ordinance.

EC sources said the daft proposal was supposed to be finalised at the EC’s meeting yesterday. The EC is likely to discuss the proposal in today’s meeting, they added.

Upon finalising the proposal, the EC will send it to the law ministry. It might also call on the chief adviser to discuss the issue.

As per the draft proposal, expatriate Bangladeshis with dual citizenship would be eligible for enrolment as voters.

Two election commissioners — Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Sakhawat Hussain — in November last year visited the UK and told Bangladeshi citizens living there that they would take steps to register expatriate Bangladeshis as voters.

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