Staff Reporter :
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal has emphasized the significance of taking the election process seriously, as the 12th national polls is approaching.
“Sometimes we take the matter of election lightly; sometimes serious.
But, we always have to consider election seriously,” he said during the inauguration of a training program for judicial magistrates at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Monday.
The CEC also said that the 12th parliamentary election should be made credible nationally and internationally.
“There are various irregularities including election rigging, use of muscle power and distribution of black money.
We have to make the election acceptable to the people of the country and the international community by resisting them. You have to make it credible,” he added.
Mentioning that the people of the country and the international community have a responsibility in the election, the CEC said: “The election has a domestic dimension. Similarly, there are international dimensions. The international dimension cannot be underestimated in any way. We have to show the international community that the election was free, fair and neutral.”
Addressing the judicial magistrates, KaziHabibulAwal said: “Without credibility (of the polls), public perception can be lost.”
He also told the officials that there may be violence during polls, but it should not matter. “Violence must be resisted.”
The Election Commission will inform the public about the overall preparations for the upcoming national parliament elections, said EC Secretary Md Jahangir Alam.
The 12th National Parliament election will be held on 7 January. On 6 January at 3 pm, a ‘meet the press’ will be organised at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center to discuss the parliamentary elections,” he told journalists at a press conference organised at the media centre of the election building on Monday (1 January).
The EC secretary said, “We want to inform all domestic and foreign observers, journalists, and guests about all the issues related to the election.”
Regarding communication, he said, all operators will provide full-speed internet on election day.
In response to the question about how many polling stations have been brought under the network, he said, “All the mobile networking systems we have will be operational at full speed.”
The 12th national polls is scheduled to held on January 7.
