Dhaka Bureau: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal urged the political parties of the country to settle their differences.
He said to all the parties: “If there is a difference of opinion between you, you should try to resolve it. The Election Commission will not be able to do so. He made this comment after the voter’s day rally in front of the election hall on Thursday (March 2).
At this time, the CEC refused to accept the information coming out about the low voter turnout at the polling stations. However, he admitted that the voter turnout in the recent by-elections was somewhat low.
Asked by a reporter about low voter turnout at the Center, the CEC said, “My colleagues have informed me that voter turnout has gone down.” Overall, not at all. This is not correct information. Why did the voter turnout decrease in some polls, Commissioners Md. Alamgir and Ahsan Habib Khan said.
“What we hypothesized, in terms of reality, is that when the vote is competitive, highly competitive, voter turnout is higher,” he said. Voter turnout in the National Assembly elections (recently held by-elections) has been slightly lower. Because there are only 10 months left (after the 12th National Assembly elections). And not really competitive. You have seen the union council polls, done on EVMs, but the turnout there was satisfactory. EVM polling was said to be slow, but even there the turnout was fairly good. We expect the polls to be competitive in the future. I am hopeful that the attendance will be correct.
Our attendance at Zilla Parishad was 99 percent, and voting was done through the Electoral College.
The CEC said voter turnout could be low due to various reasons. It may be due to meteorological factors, it may be due to calamities, it may be due to winter; it can be due to various reasons. But what matters is whether the voters showed up, whether they were prevented, and whether they were able to vote.
In response to another question, the Chief Election Commissioner said, first of all, the responsibility of bringing voters to the center is the voter’s own. Political parties have a responsibility if there is a political contest. They have to fulfill that responsibility. Election Commission, we will organize the vote. We will supply your ballot papers and supply boxes, and we have law and order agencies called Strictly to ensure the expected law and order and a conducive environment around the polling station. This responsibility is never solely that of the Election Commission.
Qazi Habibul Awal replied to the question by saying that the future elections will not be like 2014 and 2018. Why are you so optimistic? No, I will not comment on all those questions. We will not see what happened in 2018, 2014, and 2013. We are moving forward. Keep your good wishes for us, so that we can fulfill the responsibility assigned to us in the future.
In response to the question about whether the parties are moving toward the polls, he said, “We have told the political parties before, and we are repeatedly appealing to them to come and participate in the elections.” If there is a difference of opinion between you, try to resolve it. Because the Election Commission cannot do Murubbiana. But we humbly say to all the political parties: whatever you are, participate in the elections.
At that time, other election commissioners and EC officials were present with the CEC.
Before this, they participated in a rally around eight thirty in the morning. The rally starts from the front of the election building, goes through the PSC intersection, passes the Billonpi Market intersection, and ends in front of the election building.
