Staff Reporter :
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Friday said that the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) would sideline filling-up of ballot boxes on night before elections.
He said it at a training workshop arranged for the election officials in Dhaka on Friday ahead of the fifth Upazila Parishad election.
Nurul Huda said, some polling centres are far from district and upazila headquarters. The polls related materials are sent on the previous day of the election. Sometimes it becomes almost impossible to reach the election materials there due to inclement weather and rugged communication. If EVMs are used, vote rigging would not be possible.
Expressing frustration at the ongoing spate of election irregularities, the CEC said the EC had introduced voters list with photographs to hold elections in a free, fair and credible manner, but the effort has gone vain.
Stressing the need for using the EVMs in the election, the CEC said the trend of irregularities in the election is gradually moving towards deterioration which has already gone out of our control.
“We will have to take a tough stance through proper enforcement of relevant laws in resisting the election irregularities,” KM Nurul Huda said calling upon all election officials to discharges their duties upholding professionalism.
Referring to several irregularities in the previous election, he said, “The election irregularities can’t be stopped despite enforcement of relevant laws and adoption of the electoral code of conduct. We will have to get rid of the situation.”
“Political parties will take part in election while people will cast their votes as owners of the country and we will discharge our duties in smooth way to hold a trouble-free election and it should be,” he said.
Claiming that a group of vested quarter is engaged in hatching efforts for committing fraudulence in the society, KM Nurul Huda said, “We will have to resist the attempt by new laws and regulations.”
About the role of the election officials, the CEC said conducting an election in a non-partisan manner will be the main role of the election officials and their political belief and identity will not be considerable in any circumstances.
The fifth upazila parishad elections at 492 upazilas will be held in five phases from the current month.
The first phase of the election is scheduled to be held on March 10, second phase on March 18, third on March 24, fourth on March 31 and the last fifth phase election will be held on June 18, according to the schedule.
