Even the dead used to vote in the past: CEC Nasir
Meetings with registered political parties are expected to take place later this month
Highlights
- Election Commission removed 2.1 million deceased voters from the voters list and added 4.3 million new voters
- Gap between male and female voters has narrowed from 3 million to 1.8 million
- The EC has introduced an IT-supported postal ballot system for expatriates, law enforcement, polling officials, and government employees on duty
- The national election is planned for early February, with the schedule to be announced in December
- The EC is conducting a series of stakeholder dialogues, including sessions with journalists, civil society, and political parties
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has said that the Election Commission has removed 2.1 million deceased voters from the voter list.
"Although they are dead, in the past many of them used to vote," he said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
He made the remarks today (6 October) while delivering his opening speech during a dialogue with representatives of electronic media journalists at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, ahead of the National Election.
CEC Nasir Uddin said, "We have already completed many important tasks to ensure the election is held smoothly. We updated the voters' list by visiting homes across the country and have removed around 2.1 million deceased voters from it. Many of these deceased voters, regardless of their names, used to cast votes. I have even seen captions in print media calling them 'graveyard voters'."
At the discussion meeting, also present were four election commissioners and other officials concerned.
Highlighting the Election Commission's (EC) preparations ahead of the polls, the CEC said discussions with political parties will take place at the final stage of stakeholder consultations. The commission feels somewhat relieved, he added, as the Reform Commission has already advanced much of the preparatory work.
"We are committed to holding a fair election. This dialogue is not a formality — we want to move forward with your valuable suggestions. We want to evaluate your advice and seek your cooperation in creating a level playing field," he said.
Nasir Uddin noted that ensuring a level playing field is not possible for the EC alone. "Support from the media, law enforcement, political parties, candidates, voters, and the general public will be needed. The media's role will also be vital in preventing misinformation and disinformation," he said.
The CEC said that since taking office in November, the EC has completed several important tasks. "We have worked on ensuring a level playing field, particularly by finishing the voters' list update. Many women had lost interest in voting, but we have managed to rekindle their enthusiasm," he said.
He added that more than 2.1 million deceased voters have been removed from the list, while over 4.3 million new voters have been added. "Female voters have been included, and the gap between male and female voters — which was around 3 million — has now narrowed to 1.8 million," he said.
For expatriate Bangladeshis, an IT-supported postal ballot system has been introduced — a hybrid national mechanism, according to the CEC. "We have also taken steps to include postal ballots for law enforcement members, polling officials, government employees on duty, and individuals under legal custody," he said.
"We will make arrangements for the voting of those government employees who are performing their duties in the elections. About 10 lakh government employees will be brought under the purview of voting this time. They will not be allowed to go to their polling stations to perform their duties but they will be able to vote through poster ballots."
"We have nothing to hide. We want to show the nation and the world a transparent election — clear as a mirror. We need cooperation from the media to achieve that. We intend to complete this process transparently and will soon launch awareness programmes for voters," the CEC said.
Among the television representatives present at the morning session were: Ekattor TV Head of News & CEO Shafik Ahmed, Baishakhi TV News Chief Ziaul Kabir Sumon, Jamuna TV's Towhidul Islam, Independent TV's Mostafa Akmal, Global TV's Ferdous Mamun, Channel i's Zahid Newaz Khan, DBC's Loton Ekram, ATN News's Shahidul Azam, Green TV's Mahmud Hasan, GTV's Gausul Azam Bipu, Deepto TV's SM Akash, Somoy TV's Zahurul Islam Jony, News24's Shariful Islam Khan, Maasranga TV's Niaz Morshed, Ananda TV's Joynal Abedin, ATN Bangla's Ikramul Haque Sayem, and BTV's Monir Islam.
The constitutional body plans to hold the election in the first half of February, before Ramadan. The election schedule will be announced in the first half of December.
On 28 September (Sunday), the EC launched its "dialogue phase" with representatives of civil society and academics. As part of the series, discussions will continue today and tomorrow in two sessions — at 10:30am and 2:30pm.
The discussion meetings will continue for one to one and a half months. Meetings with registered political parties are expected to take place later this month.
