Fair polls not possible by only empowering EC

A fair election will not be possible only by empowering the election commission, said former adviser to a caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan yesterday.
After the election, government officials involved in electoral duties no longer remain under the commission's jurisdiction. Hence, it become hard for the commission to take legal action against law violators, he said.
He told a roundtable, “How to solve the key problem of Bangladesh politics”, arranged by Center for Strategic and Peace and Studies (CSPS) in Jatiya Press Club.
The election commission should announce the polling venues and returning officers' panel six months before the election so that candidates can forward their objections beforehand, he said.
He proposed to bring polling centers under a central computerised system to avoid “election engineering”.
On four proposals he made on December 29, 2012 on holding the next general election, Akbar said the proposals, including one to form an interim government comprising Awami League and BNP lawmakers, do not require big constitutional changes and have no legal barrier.
CSPS President Shah Abdul Hannan moderated the event where Dr Hasan Mohammad of Chittagong University presented a keynote. Columnist Farhad Mazhar and Prof Piyas Karim also spoke.