EC working to uphold people’s right to vote, says CEC Nasir Uddin

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin has sought assistance from the people of Bangladesh to overcome the flaws in the electoral system.

“We don’t want irregularities. We want to establish a true electoral system, not a farcical one,” he said.

“Starting from updating the voter list to the results, we seek cooperation from people of all spheres for the entire process.”

He made the remarks while inaugurating the “Voter List Update Programme” in Savar through door-to-door information collection on Monday.

The information collection programme will continue until Feb 3. Then there will be other tasks, like the collection of fingerprints and the taking of photographs. These tasks are likely to end by June.

Those born on Jan 1, 2008 or before, and not included in the voter list, will be enlisted while dead voters’ names will be dropped. Those who shifted their residences will be able to change their addresses during the voter list update.

Through this programme, the effort to establish people’s right to vote has begun, said CEC Nasir Uddin.

“The day people can vote for their chosen candidate freely and fairly, without any fear - we believe their right to vote will be established on that day. We have embarked on a struggle to establish that right. We need to take everyone on board in this struggle.”

Urging everyone to unite, the CEC said that Bengalis knew how to do so. “Bengalis know how to fight to uphold their rights.”

“Under our leadership, Bangladeshis will unite and fight for their right to vote. We are with you all.”

The elections held during the Awami League rule were marred with irregularities and vote rigging and so people lost their interest in voting, said Nasir Uddin.

“Many young people told me they could not cast their votes. I want to ensure they can cast their ballots. This is the beginning of the struggle to establish people’s right to vote.”

He said a “long journey” to make use of these opportunities has just begun. The CEC solicited cooperation from the people for the entire process, starting from campaigning and casting votes to counting them.

He also pushed for the development of a social movement to prevent irregularities in elections.

“Can’t we all unite to uphold our right and ensure that no one snatches our right to vote, our ballot boxes and take control of the polling centres? We must encourage the voters,” he said.

““We’ll guard the polling centres, and not let anyone to take control of them. We need to build social barriers against irregularities.”

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus outlined a possible timeframe for the next 13^th general election, saying they may be held in the next one to one-and-a-half years.

The EC says it has been working towards holding the 13^th general election in the timeframe announced by the chief advisor. Meanwhile, the BNP said on Jan 14 that they wanted the parliamentary election to be held in July to August this year.