Gaibandha polls decision only after getting inquiry report: Commissioner Alamgir

The date for a fresh by-election to the Gaibandha-5 constituency, where a by-election was cancelled last week in light of irregularities, will be announced after an inquiry report is received to this end, said Election Commissioner Md Alamgir on Tuesday.

Asked about the Election Commission's (EC) authority to investigate and punish the guilty, he told journalists, "The commission has full authority. If guilt is proven in the investigation, then the commission can take any action against responsible officials, including dismissing them from jobs," he said.

"The commission has the authority to suspend them for up to two months. Apart from that, as per law the punishment that we will decide should be implemented by the employing organisation and inform us again. The commission can also take action against the authorities who do not take action," Md Alamgir said at his office at the EC headquarters in the capital.

He also mentioned that the punishment will be determined by the extent of the crime through the investigation.

About the reasons for the scrapping of the Gaibandha-5 by-election on 12 October, he said, "Polling agents had been entering secret rooms and pressing buttons on electronic voting machines (EVMs) since the beginning of the Gaibandha elections."

"We called presiding officers but they were non-cooperative and did not follow the instructions of the commission," he added.

The election commissioner said, "It was very surprising to us. We asked the violators to be brought to justice. But the presiding officers did not comply with the instructions. We saw this situation in three centres in a row and closed elections there."  

Later, a similar situation was observed in other centres. The commission spoke to the field administration officials over the phone to restore order, but the situation did not improve, he added.

"We found irregularities in one-third of centres. Had the election still been continued, it would not be acceptable to the people. That's why we stopped the election," said Md Alamgir.

Asked about letters sent by presiding officers saying the election was fair, he said, "We don't know what they wrote. We have not received any reports."

Stating that legally there is no scope to give such a letter, he noted that only after an investigation will it come out as to who gave it and why. He said that the inquiry committee will see to its accuracy.

Asked about the amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), he said, "We have proposed the amendment. Now it is a matter for the law ministry. Maybe they are scrutinising it. We don't know. They didn't tell us."

In response to a question of how many CCTV cameras will be used for the upcoming parliamentary elections, he said there will be about 42,000 centres, and there will be about 2.5 lakh booths. As such, 2.5 lakh cameras can be used.

As to whether CCTV cameras are being used because there is no trust in the field administrations, he said, "No, it is not like that."

He said the purpose of this is to use modern technology to make the election more fair and beautiful.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission will hold a meeting today with former chief election commissioners, election commissioners, EC secretaries and senior officials.

Asked about the reason for the meeting, Md Alamgir said that they are experienced. They served the commission duty for five years one after the other.

"As a commission, we have little experience. Some practical experience can be learned from them. There are laws and regulations. Sometimes many developments happen that do not remain in the law. (We will hear from them) on what kind of experience they had in such situations and how they solved problems and what advice they can give us" he added.