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EC swings at greeting glut

Asks poll aspirants to remove Eid posters by Oct 15, i moves to strictly enforce code of conduct

Staff Correspondent
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday asked the parliamentary aspirants to remove by October 15 their posters conveying Eid greetings to people.
If they fail to take away the posters they have put up, they will risk losing candidatures in the December 18 general election for breaching the code of conduct, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEO ATM Shamsul Huda.
Speaking at a press briefing at the EC Secretariat, he also said the commission is working towards a mechanism involving local administration to ensure strict enforcement of the electoral code.
It has also decided to assign each district two election monitoring officers for proper scrutiny of the particulars the prospective candidates will submit in their affidavits.
It yesterday directed the deputy commissioners to engage two assistant commissioners as election monitoring officers who will also oversee application of the code of conduct.
The CEC said campaigning under the pretext of greet ing people is a gross violation of the code.
The new code that took retrospective effect on September 18 prohibits any form of electioneering until three weeks before the polls.
"We will issue a circular today [yesterday] asking deputy commissioners, district and upazila election officers and upazila executive officers to start enforcing the code of conduct right away," Huda said.
The district- and upazila-level officials will ask the aspiring candidates to remove the posters and graffiti. They will take photographs of the posters and keep those for records if the parliamentary
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hopefuls fail to do so by October 15.
During scrutiny of candidacy applications, the documents [photographs) will be used to cancel one's candidature for breaching the code of conduct, said the polls chief.
He continued. "The country seems to have been flooded with multi-coloured posters extending Eid greetings. Even portraits of party leaders were used in the posters. All this is unacceptable, and constitutes an electoral offence. We cannot afford to sit idle."
There is nothing wrong with offering Eid greetings. But doing that by pasting posters is not normal behaviour, he observed.
Beside, he added, this undermines the efforts to ensure a level playingfield.
Accordingto the code of conduct, political parties and candidates in the December 18 national election will not be able to begin campaign before November 27.
A violation of the code is punishable bv at least six months in prison, fine ofTk 50.000, and even cancellation of candidature in the event of gross irregularities.
Initially, the EC was hesitant about enforcing the new code before registration of the political parties. But in the wake of violations of the electoral code of late it resolved to make the prospective contenders obey its rules.
Ave are trying to create a fair political climate. The code of conduct too has been accepted in its entirety by all political parties as it will reduce their election expenditure," Huda said.
On noticing a breach of the code, election monitoring officers will inform the electoral inquiry committees, and if necessary ask the law enforcement agencies to take actions, he added.
SCRUTINY MECHANISM
According to the new electoral laws, an individual seeking election to parliament must furnish the commission with a set of information including those on his wealth, liabilities, police records and educational qualifications.
The laws empower the EC to cancel one's candidature for keeping back information.
The CEC said, “The returning officers (ROs) remain so busy that it
may not be possible for them to properly scrutinise the candidates' particulars. So, we've decided to appoint two election monitoring officers to do the job right.”
He said the monitoring officers check the authenticity of the information in the application forms and prepare summaries for the ROs. They will also see if anyone has concealed any information in the affidavit.
They will have to do the job in three days between filing of the candidacy applications and the start of scrutiny by the ROs.
The CEC said a candidate will be able to submit a counter affidavit against his opponent for holding back information.
He said the EC has taken the decision in light of the shortcomings that surfaced during the conduct of the August 4 local government polls.
“At that time, we were criticised for not being able to plug the loopholes," Huda said, adding the new mechanism will be applied to the upcoming upazila elections as well.
The EC has also decided that two copies of the affidavit will have to be submitted along with the application for candidacy. "The original will be for the ROs. Of the copies, one will be put upon notice board |at the offices ofROs) and the other will be available for anyone willing to photocopy the candidate's information."
The EC will print leaflets containing the candidates' information and distribute those among their constituents, the CEC said.
Election commissioners Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain were present at the press briefing.