EC may start updating voter list in June: CEC
The Election Commission may start updating the countrywide voter list with photographs at the end of June, Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda said yesterday.
“We may start updating the voter list at the end of June,” he told reporters while replying to a question after attending a workshop titled 'Voter list Update Programme-2009' organised by the Commission at the National Economic Council (NEC).
“We need some time for printing the registration forms along with putting equipment in place before going on with the updating exercise,” Dr Huda said.
The CEC said the Commission has not yet finalised the time when actually the updating work would be launched but the updating exercise would be completed in a span of 45 days. “We're very careful about maintaining the standard of the existing voter list.”
On completion of updating the voter list, he said the registration process would be going on round the year until the election schedule for parliamentary polls is announced.
Dr Huda said the officials concerned would carefully perform their duties so that the mistakes of the past do not occur again during registration. “I hope there'll be fewer mistakes this time.”
Replying to a question, he said the process of correcting mistakes in voter ID cards would continue while updating the voter list. “Corrections will be made this time,” he added.
Asked whether national ID card is needed for opening a bank account and other purposes, the CEC said the Commission would issue a gazette notification after properly finishing the updating task. “All organisations concerned will be informed through the gazette notification in time.”
About permanent constitutions of political parties, Dr Huda said the
EC has already made it clear that the timeframe for submitting the permanent party constitution would be extended if they (parties) apply to the Commission. “We want to maintain good relations with the political parties.”
The CEC, while addressing the workshop, urged the officials involved in updating the task to perform their duties promptly and flawlessly as the army officials did while preparing the voter list with photographs.
“You need to be polite while working to keep up the Commission's image. You should also be careful so that people, particularly the women and the elderly ones, do not have to stand in the queues for long,” he said.
About publicity, Dr Huda said a massive publicity through print and electronic media would be carried out to this end.
Election Commissioners M Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, EC Secretary M Humayun Kabir, senior EC officials and district and upazila election officers attended the workshop.
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