EC declares polls fixture

The Election Commission (EC) finally announced the detailed schedule for the ninth parliamentary election last night, ending all speculations about the fate of the long stalled poll now slated for December 18.

The commission also announced the detailed schedule for the third upazila elections declaring that those will be held only on December 28, instead of on two different dates which had been declared earlier.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed had announced before, that the upazila parishad elections would be held in two phases on December 24 and 28.

Just hours earlier in the day, the High Court had cleared the way for the EC's announcement by throwing away three separate writ petitions challenging the commission's gazette notification on the recent redemarcation of parliamentary constituencies.

Soon after the court verdict, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda and the two other commissioners M Sakhawat Hussain and Muhammad Sohul Hussain met in the EC Secretariat and decided to announce the schedules.

The CEC announced the detailed poll schedules in an address to the nation at 7:30pm.

The last date for filing nomination papers for the parliamentary election is November 13, and the deadline for withdrawing nominations is November 24, the CEC announced adding that the nomination papers will be scrutinised on November 16 and 17.

The last date for submitting nominations for the upazila polls is also November 13, and the deadline for withdrawing nominations is November 27, while those will be scrutinised on November 19 and 20, according to the detailed schedule.

Announcing the schedules, the CEC assured the people of the country of free, fair and neutral elections.

"I want to assure the voters that we will do everything possible so they can go to polling centres without having any fear, and also can return home safely after casting their votes," the CEC said in his address to the nation, televised live.

For holding the elections peacefully, he announced that members of the armed forces will be deployed along with the police, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Bangladesh Ansar, and the Village Defence Police (VDP).

"We will not let the voters be hostage to terror, hooliganism, and muscle, and will arrange to hold the elections peacefully at any cost," Shamsul Huda assured the people.

The EC chief also warned of tough actions against candidates and election officials if they violate electoral rules. He urged all election officials to carry out their responsibilities with full neutrality and efficiency.

"The success of a fair election expected by all largely depends on the full neutrality and efficiency of officials and employees who will be involved at different levels of the election and will play both direct and indirect roles," he said, urging all election officials to carry out their 'sacred duties' remaining above all kinds of fear and threat.

"Disregard all unwarranted influence and unjust demands," Huda told all election officials, reminding them that all of their activities will be monitored.

"We will not hesitate to take actions against persons failing to carry out their duties neutrally," he warned.

The CEC requested prospective candidates to abide by the new electoral code of conduct, which bans coloured posters and graffiti on walls, erection of gates, and decorative illuminations for campaign purposes.

He also warned prospective candidates against pre-election massive showdowns, undue entertaining of voters, and buying of votes.

"Especially, the traditional showdowns during submission of nomination papers will not be tolerated. And if that happens, candidacy of the applicant will become uncertain."

He urged prospective contestants to maintain a peaceful atmosphere by showing respect to their opponents.

About poll results, the CEC said presiding officers will not only write the election results numerically but will also write them in words after taking signatures of polling agents on the result sheets.

Providing polling agents with copies of election result sheets has been made mandatory, the CEC added.



"Presiding officers will send the signed result sheets to returning officers, and will also send a copy to the Election Commission by post," Huda said adding that the post offices will remain open until the result sheets are in, no matter how late at night it is.

The new steps will make publication of the election results fully transparent, he hoped.

The CEC also announced that only the candidates nominated by parties registered with the commission and independent candidates will be eligible to contest in the elections, and they must be voters in any of the constituencies.

"Loan and bill defaulters will not be able to become candidates if they don't reschedule their dues," Huda said adding, government officials and semi-government officials will not be eligible to contest in the polls unless three years have elapsed since their retirements or expiration of their contractual appointments.

CEC Shamsul Huda also went over the events that culminated in yesterday's announcement of the detailed poll schedules since the current EC had taken over the charge in February last year, including holding of electoral dialogues with political parties and amending the Representation of the People Order (RPO).

He said a total of 8,11,30,973 persons registered as voters across the country with their photographs taken till October 2008, but 9,24,41,868 had been registered in 2006, a number he said had been flawed.

He thanked Bangladesh Army for assisting the EC in the gigantic tedious task of preparing the new voter list on time, detecting 1,13,10,895 fake voters on the 2006 list.

"The amended laws and rules will help keep the elections free from the influence of black money and muscle in order to make them free and fair," the CEC hoped in his half an hour address.

Referring to registration of political parties, he said the registration process has been introduced and 'completed' in a short period of time not to control the parties, rather to ensure accountability and transparency in political parties' activities.

He said the EC successfully completed redemarcation of the constituencies after 24 years, which is a legal obligation of the commission following every census.

The CEC hoped that with sincere efforts and participation of the political parties, intellectuals, journalists, students and the people in general, the ninth parliamentary election and the third upazila elections will be held peacefully on Dec 18 and 28 respectively.

The previous EC had announced a detailed poll schedule for the ninth parliamentary election setting January 22 of last year as the polling date, but that was cancelled amid unabated political violence and controversies over holding the poll, leading to the events of 1\11.

Following assumption of the country's helm by Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government backed by the military, all proceedings regarding the earlier schedule of the ninth parliamentary election were cancelled, and the EC was reconstituted on February 5 last year.

Becoming the chief of the EC, Huda promised to hold a free, fair and credible election in the shortest possible time.