Mistakes can happen: Commissioner on conflicting info in EC roadmap

On conflicting information about political parties' stance on EVM use, Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana has said mistakes can happen and the commission will fix any discrepancy it finds.

"I do not have the roadmap with me at the moment. Commenting on the error without checking would not be right. I will check it at the office on Sunday," she told The Business Standard Friday (16 September).

The Election Commission in its roadmap unveiled on Wednesday disclosed that it will use EVMs in 150 seats in the upcoming national election.

According to the roadmap, 12 of the 29 political parties which participated in the EC dialogue, were directly in favour of EVM, 6 were directly against it and 11 political parties were in favour of EVM subject to conditions.

Based on these figures, a total of 23 political parties are directly and conditionally in favour of EVMs. But, the same roadmap in another place listed 17 parties in favour of EVMs and 12 against it.

The claim that 17 political parties are in favour of EVM is also based on inconsistent information.

A review of the written proposals given by the parties in the EC dialogue shows that 3 out of 17 parties – Bangladesh Islami Front, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan – were against EVMs.

Bangladesh Islami Front, which attended the dialogue on 18 July, said in a written proposal that effective steps should be taken for people to exercise their voting rights through transparent ballot papers, not through EVMs. The Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, in their dialogue on 19 July did not mention anything about EVM in its 15-point proposal. They too proposed to hold the next national election on ballot papers. On 24 July, the Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan urged to not make the election questionable by using EVMs in the national elections.

Mufti Sultan Mohiuddin, organising secretary of Bangladesh Khilafat Movement, said, "It is completely fabricated. Our stance against EVMs is clear. But EC's roadmap twisted it."

"If they do this before the election, what will happen in the elections?" he asked.

Besides, 9 of the 17 parties added some conditions for the use of EVMs in the upcoming elections while one party gave no opinion about EVM.

That leaves only four parties, who were directly in favour of EVM – The Awami League and its alliances and the like-minded Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, Samyabadi Dal and the Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh.

On the last day of dialogue with political parties, CEC Kazi Habibul Awal himself said at talks with the Awami League that most political parties do not believe in EVMs.

The list was made with parties including Workers' Party, Jasad, Zaker Party, Ganatantri Party, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Sanskritik Muktijot, Bangladesh Nationalist Front, which conditionally agreed on the use of EVMs. Some of these were listed in favour while some against.

In its action plan for the upcoming elections on Wednesday, the EC claimed, as most parties in the dialogue are in favour of EVMs, it would not be reasonable not to use it.

Criticising the matter, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon told TBS that there is no use in lying about EVMs.

"Showing a long list of parties in favour of it will do no good unless the public's confidence is won," he said.

"We have put certain conditions in writing to the EC regarding the use of EVMs. They were wrong to think we are directly in favour of EVM," added Menon.

Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), told TBS, "They are deceiving people. This is fraud and they have already lost their credibility."

Nine parties including BNP, which did not participate in the dialogue, are also against the use of EVM in national elections.