No scope for reviewing EC decision on EVM, army

Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussein yesterday said there is no scope to reconsider the decision of using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at all centres in the Comilla City Corporation polls on January 5.
“There is no scope of rigging votes in this new system. During the dialogue between political parties and the Election Commission, most political parties agreed to introduce the EVM,” he told reporters at the EC secretariat.
Sohul made the remark when reporters questioned about the EC's decision over BNP's opposing the use of EVM and demand for army deployment during the polls.
A delegation of the BNP on November 22 submitted the letter signed by acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to the EC.
Sohul said the EC will give formal reply to the letter citing reasons in favour of using the EVM and for not deploying army. “In every local election, flawless EVM will be used in the future,” he said.
Asked about the use of EVM in the next parliamentary elections, he said the next EC will decide on it.
Tenure of the current EC expires in February next year.
Talking about the electoral code of conduct, the commissioner said prospective candidates of the Comilla city polls have been asked to put off all sorts of banners, posters and billboards by midnight today.
The commission announced schedule of the polls on Tuesday.
Sohul also reiterated the commission's stance that the army will not be deployed in the Comilla City Corporation polls.
“We will deploy sufficient personnel of other law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Replying to a question on BNP's threat to boycott the polls if its demands are not fulfilled, Sohul said there is no scope for a party to boycott the polls since the local government elections are non-partisan.