& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Study shows voter list grossly flawed

Staff Correspondent
Two former advisers of the caretaker government yesterday described the Chief Election Commissioner's (CEC) holding dialogue with all political parties on the voter list as 'unnecessary'.
They said the Election Commission (EC) should instead discharge its constitutional duty to prepare a correct voter list.
Addressing a roundtable discussion in the city, Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud and M Hafizuddin Khan, who served the caretaker governments of 1996 and 2001 as advisers, said the caretaker
government system is not the sole condition for free and fair elections, rather a strong and independent EC is a must for credible elections.
At the end of the day, it is the EC that conducts the elections, and so, it should be strengthened and given complete independence, they said.
Brotee and Fema, two election observer groups, organised the roundtable at the Biam conference centre. During the programme, they placed reports on municipal and parliamentary by-elections held in 2004.
Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid chaired the discussion attended by SEE PAGE 15 COL 7 FROM PAGE 1 politicians, economists, diplomats, foreign envoys and development activists.
Professor Wahiuddin Mahmud, also a noted economist, said, "There's no point in engaging over 100 political parties to decide whether to go for a fresh voter roll or revise the existing one. It rather should be a matter of ways to correct the voter list. And it all rests with the Election Commission to rectify the roll," he said.
Prof Mahmud referring to a Brotee study that says up to 65 percent of the existing electoral roll is flawed, said, "The voting is meaningless if this is the situation."
M Hafizuddin Khan, adviser to the 2001 caretaker government, said the CEC for nothing has involved the political parties in discussion on the voter list. He suggested the EC should update the voter list every year as part of its constitutional responsibilities.
The former adviser said, "We should focus on ways to strengthen the Election Commission as it is the constitutional body to conduct elections."
Describing the RPO (Representation of the People Order) as one of the finest laws, he said, "Unfortunately, in our country the election commission has never discharged its duties properly. It never made sincere efforts to execute the RPO to ensure free and fair polls."
He also criticised long delay in resolving the electoral disputes.
Prof Khan Sarwar Murshid said, "The caretaker government system will be irrelevant if we can have a powerful Election Commission."
Lack of trust among the political parties has contributed to developing the system of caretaker government, he added.
Adviser to the ruling BNP MM Rezaul Karim also stressed the importance of a strong EC in holding elections in a free and fair manner. He said, "The Election Commission has to be reformed. It must have the authority to recruit staff and prepare budget on its own."
"All major political parties should sit down to discuss ways to make elections credible," said Karim, the ambassador-designate to Egypt.
Kees Beemsterboer, the Dutch ambassador to Bangladesh, referring to a recent comment by Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, said foreign envoys have no intention to interfere in internal affairs here. "We all are working to help Bangladesh make its electoral process more credible," he said.
Opposition Awami League leader AMA Muhith in his speech questioned competence of some of the election observation groups. The former finance minister said he favours introducing electronic voting and Voters' Identity Cards to check false voting.
Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam said goals of elections have changed over the years. Now the aspirant lawmakers want to make profit, not serve the people.
The cost of losing elections has also risen drastically. Now to lose an election may mean losing personal liberty and wealth. It may also mean being subjected to political repression by the new ruling parties, he said.
The Daily Star editor made a strong recommendation for an independent secretariat for the EC and said that all returning officers should belong to EC's own cadre, not the deputy commissioners as it is done today.
Dr Atiur Rahman called on the poll observers to start working immediately under a long-term project for the next general election to be held in 2007.
AL lawmaker Asaduzzman Noor said honest people should come out to contest the elections to 'kick the black money holders and criminals out of the race'.
"Political parties have a great role to play in this regard by nominating honest people for the elections," he said.
Dr Badiul Alam Majumder echoed the opposition lawmaker's view and said even the most neutral caretaker government and the strongest EC will not suffice to hold elections freely and fairly if the political parties do not practise fair politics.
Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive of Brotee, and Muhammed Abdul
Matin, secretary general of Fema, tabled two separate reports on pourashava and parliamentary byelections held in 2004.