THE Election Commission has drafted a guideline for imparting training to polls-related officials, keeping in it controversial positions like “special speakers” and “course advisers” amid allegations of financial corruption using such posts. In the draft guideline, it has also suggested raising allowances for those positions.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, election commissioners and top officials of the EC secretariat attended training programmes as “special speakers” ahead of the 2018 national election and the Fifth Upazila polls in 2019. Election Commissioners and the EC secretary also attended the training programmes as “course advisers” and the Director General of Electoral Training Institute (ETI) as “course director”, according to EC officials.
The EC has been facing criticism from many eminent citizens and left-leaning political parties over alleged financial and other irregularities. Forty-two noted citizens of the country have written twice to President Abdul Hamid, demanding formation of Supreme Judicial Council to probe allegations of “serious financial corruption and gross election-related misconduct” against the EC.
They said members of the EC indulged in misconduct and irregularities, including speeches as “special speakers” at training programmes ahead of the national polls in 2018 and the Fifth Upazila Elections. Once the guideline is finalised, it might be sent to the Finance Ministry for approval, said the member.
When the EC can’t fulfill its main objectives “” that of looking after an impartial election, what else can we expect of it other than becoming an organisation which exists to pat its members on the back financially? This seems to be the case here with certain EC members who are looking onto every opportunity to enrich themselves.
By itself self enrichment is not unique to the bureaucrats of the EC “”but when we add to the fact that it has abysmally failed to do its main job “” that of holding impartial elections then its very existence becomes something of a joke. Without serious political pressure it will never reform itself.
