Staff Reporter :
Shujan (Shushashoner Janno Nagorik), a civil society platform, on Saturday expressed doubts over holding the upcoming Parliamentary election in a free, fair and credible manner due to the ongoing ‘spree of arrest, restriction on political activities and use of Digital Security Act.’
“We want not only a peaceful election but also a free, fair and credible one. A congenial atmosphere must prevail in the country during the polls,” Shujan’s President M Hafiz Uddin Khan said at a programme yesterday morning.
Hafiz Uddin Khan, also a former advisor to caretaker government, was addressing the programme titled “Jatiya Nirbachan Olympiad”, organised by Shujan in association with The Hunger Project, an international voluntary organisation, at CIRDAP International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
A total of 90 participants from 30 constituencies joined the Olympiad. Of them, the top three participants were awarded at the programme.
“Why is the election being held so hurriedly? What is the government’s problem if the election is held in January?” the Shujan chief asked.
He also expressed concerns as foreign election observers will not come to monitor polls situation as the election it will be held during Christmas celebration.
Speaking at the programme, former chief election commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda expressed concerns over the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming election.
“The EVMs are being hastily procured privately at a cost of over Tk 3,800 crore for using those in the upcoming polls. Despite objection from most political parties, for whose sake will the EVMs be used in the polls?” he asked.
Other speakers at the programme also said around 2.30 crore young voters will exercise their franchise in the upcoming election and among them about 43 lakh became voters this year.
There are total 10,41,43,381 voters in the country at present, they added.
The 11th Parliamentary election will be held on December 23, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda announced this in televised address to the nation on Thursday.
The announcement of the election schedule came despite the request of Jatiya Oikyafront, an alliance of the BNP, Gono Forum and several other opposition parties, not to announce the schedule before resolving the crisis over the election.
According to the schedule, the last date for filing nomination papers for candidacy is November 19. The returning officers will scrutinise the nomination papers on November 22 while the last date for withdrawing candidacy is November 29.
