The Election Commission (EC) may reconsider the procedure for updating the voter list next week in the wake of little response from the people and the newly appointed EC secretary's stance favouring door-to-door visit, said sources.

But in a last-ditch attempt to prove right its decision not to visit from door to door to revise the existing list, the EC and its Secretariat are now going all out to have more people listed as voters using the current method, an official of the Secretariat said.

Field level officials were directed yesterday to give their

best to improve the people's response that was anything but satisfactory in last six days. Even an election commissioner yesterday phoned several district election officers asking them to step up their efforts, added the sources.

But many district officials expressed frustration over the progress in the updating job and support for the newly appointed secretary of the EC Secretariat favouring house-to-house visit.

"We have been trying our best for the last six days. But what can we do if people don't show up to pick up the forms required to be listed as voters," a district election

FROM PAGE 1

officer said. "In my district, only 86 forms were distributed while six of them were submitted," he added.

Irked by the commission's rigid position, the government on July 3 appointed Abdur Rashid Sarkar as the secretary of the EC Secretariat. Immediately after his appointment, Rashid started differing with the EC on its method for the updating task.

Meanwhile, the new secretary yesterday met the chief election commissioner (CEC) and said he would join the EC Secretariat next Sunday.

Earlier on Wednesday, he paid a courtesy call on the prime minister who assured him of full co-operation in preparing a flawless voterlist.

Replying to a query about his plan regarding the voter list revision, Abdur Rashid yesterday told reporters, "Let me join first and then decide on the course of action."

Officials at the EC Secretariat said if the secretary keeps advocating for visiting door to door, the ongoing task will be hampered seriously.

"Field level officials have already lost interest in the job after hearing Rashid's comments. They now believe that the commission will change its stance and decide in favour of door-to-door visits," a district election officer told The Daily Star yesterday on condition of anonymity.

He said if the EC does not budge on the issue, it may not be possible to complete the ongoing task, as the people have not responded well in last six days.

There might be a conflict between the commission and its secretariat if the former does not change its decision, feared the election officer.

The EC Secretariat plans to assign its 90 officials to assist the assistant registration officers in carrying out the updating job in the capital from today, sources said.