City Polls Date: EC waiting for HC ruling on deferral plea
The Election Commission would wait for High Court directives on whether to change the election date for the Dhaka city corporations, which is now January 30, an election commissioner said.
A writ petition was filed with the HC seeking a directive to defer the date for a week as Saraswati Puja is on election day.
“A writ petition is pending with the High Court. We would follow the instruction of the court,” Election Commissioner Rafiqul Islam told The Daily Star yesterday.
Demands for deferring the date for Dhaka north and south city corporation polls have been getting louder in the last couple of days.
Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad formed a human chain on the Dhaka University campus, and a group of DU’s Jagannath Hall students held a meeting with Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar to this end yesterday.
On Saturday, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, and Jagannath and Bijoy Ekattar halls unions in separate statements demanded changing the voting date.
On January 6, Supreme Court lawyer Ashoke Kumar Ghosh filed the writ petition
The HC is expected to hear the petition in a day or two.
A top EC official yesterday said they were in discussion to find a solution.
The official said the commission might defer the election date to February 1. “If we decide to hold the polls on February 1, it will coincide with the first day of SSC examinations. So, we will need to request the government to change the SCC exams date.”
“But everything depends on the commission decision,” the official added.
Chief of Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-committee Ziaul Haque said they would prioritise the Election Commission’s instruction. “Elections are always their top priority,” said Ziaul, also Dhaka Education Board chairman.
DEMAND GETTING LOUDER
Bangladesh Chhatra Oikya Parishad yesterday formed a human chain at the Raju Memorial Sculpture on the DU campus to press home their demand.
It is a matter of sorrow that the Hindu community would have to go to polling centres on the day of worshipping their goddess Saraswati, said Saddam Hussain, DUCSU assistant general secretary.
Jagannath Hall union Vice-President Utpal Biswas said holding election on the day of puja would create various problems, including movement of worshippers.
On Friday, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Returning Officer Abdul Baten forwarded to the EC a Jagannath Hall provost’s letter requesting change of voting date.
In the letter, Baten opined that many Hindus live in DSCC area. Jagannath Hall and Ramakrishna Math and Mission are situated there.
Several polling stations will be set up at educational institutions where Hindus offer Saraswati Puja. “Old Dhaka is a densely populated area, it will be difficult for Hindus to offer their puja …,” he added.
On January 7, in separate letters to Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian-Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad demanded change of the election date.
“Earlier, we urged the EC to reschedule Rangpur-3 by-polls, held on October 5, which was the second day of Durga Puja, but the commission did not pay heed to our demands,” the Oikya Parishad letter mentioned.
In its letter, the Oikya Parishad leaders warned that they would not take any responsibility if any kind of untoward incident happened on the day centring Saraswati Puja.