Staff Reporter :
Election commissioners on Sunday asked the executive magistrates to act without any biasness while discharging their duties during the upcoming Parliamentary election.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda and the four election commissioners were briefing the executive magistrates of Sylhet, Barishal and Chattogram about electoral code of conduct at the EC Office on Sunday morning.
“Your duty is to treat all the candidates equally. It is neither less nor more,” he said.
Nurul Hunda also asked the magistrates to look after the safety of presiding officers. “Your duty is to assist them. Never hesitate to guide them. If you do it, that will be a mistake,” he added.
“You must protect the presiding officers instead of commanding them, as they will discharge a very important job of the state. Cooperation between the executive magistrates and the presiding officers is needed for holding a fair election,” the CEC told the executive magistrates. Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury said, “Law enforcers will work under your supervision and they will use the guns if you give order. Therefore, apply your presence of mind during polls.”
“All the candidates should get equal treatment and you need to ensure that they follow the electoral code of conduct,” he further said.
Echoing the CEC and Shahdat Hossain, Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar said if laws are not applied neutrally, those become “black laws”, which will foil the elections. “So, everyone needs to be careful.”
The Election Commissioner Kabita Khanam also spoke in the function. EC secretary Helaluddin Ahmed presided at the function. The magistrates will discharge the election duty till the next day of polls (Dec 31).
The Commission will deploy more executive and judicial magistrates on a large scale a few days before the general election.
