The electioneering that a number of mayoral and councillor candidates of Narayanganj City Corporation polls are allegedly carrying out in violation of an electoral code that prohibits campaigning before symbols are allocated is unacceptable. There is a reason for such rules and regulations to exist and aspiring candidates are supposed to be well aware of them. What excuse is there then for candidates' violation of the electoral codes?

Polls officials have, meanwhile, only verbally warned some councillor candidates without taking any deterring action against them and, in case of mayoral aspirants, failed to do even that. Having apologised to the High Court only recently for not executing its designated responsibilities, what justification does the Election Commission now have for its casual handling of electoral code violations?

The EC must realise that people are looking at the upcoming polls as a litmus test for the Commission, one which it is so far failing miserably. Moreover, the Commission's track record of repeating one failure after the other does even less to instil a shred of confidence even in its ability to conduct the type of election that is acceptable to the public and does justice to citizens' voting rights.

The EC must, to save face at the very least, take strong actions to prevent any form of irregularities in the election process, which includes cancelling candidatures if necessary. While it is expected that aspiring candidates will not break any of the electoral codes out of good faith, it is the responsibility of the EC to ensure that they cannot.