Dhaka polls shouldn’t be repeat of past votes EC Mahbub Talukdar tells officials

Election commissioner Mahbub Talukdar on Wednesday said that the Election Commission did not want to see a repetition of the past mayoral elections, held by this EC, in the next votes of Dhaka North and South City Corporations on January 30.

Only the elections to the Cumilla and Rangpur city bodies were held properly while the glory was ruined in the Barishal, Gazipur and Khulna city polls under this commission, Mahbub said.

He was addressing a  training programme for the returning and assistant returning officers of the two Dhaka city corporations at the Electoral Training Institute in the capital.

He said that while the Election Commission was legally an independent institution in reality it had turned into a prisoner of the way the elections had been taking place.

To overcome the situation a reform is needed in the election process, he observed.

‘If election is a precondition for democracy it should be held in a free, fair and neutral manner in order to facilitate the journey of democracy,’ he further observed.

Mahbub maintained that illegally-elected public representatives had no commitment to the electorate or to democracy.

He urged the returning officers to show zero tolerance in ensuring a level playing field in the coming city corporation elections.

He expected that they would succeed in holding a fair election by defeating all evil forces and using their own skills and competence.

Speaking at the programme, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said that the use of Electronic Voting Machines will continue as the commission benefitted from the polling devices in national and local elections.

‘The EVM is surviving many obstacles,’ he said, adding that EC officials had been given training in the use of these devices.

The CEC too instructed the election officials to perform their duties neutrally in the upcoming city votes.

‘Both Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation elections are very important for the Election Commission. That’s why you [election officials] must perform your responsibilities in a fair manner,’ he said.

He further said that the election officials must ensure a suitable atmosphere at the polling stations so that voters could exercise their franchise.

Election commissioners Md Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam, Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury and EC secretary Md Alamgir, among others, were present at the event.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Hindu Parishad on Wednesday submitted an application to the EC requesting it to change the voting date for the Dhaka city bodies as the Hindu community would celebrate Saraswati Puja on the day.

Parishad general secretary Sajan Kumar Mishra submitted the petition addressed to the CEC.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net