Voter list correction starts in a loose manner

bdpublic · Editor Joined: 30 Nov 2006 Posts: 39

The much talked about correction on the voter list in eight days began yesterday across the country amid lack of proper guidelines, preparation, and interest among the field level staff in deleting duplicate and ineligible entries.

In the first day of correcting the updated voter list, only a handful of residents of the capital witnessed field level officials coming to their doors while most of the districts saw no activity in that regard, report our district correspondents.

Meanwhile, the voters also showed little interest in deleting duplicate names due the complex process one has to follow to do that.

The current move to correct the updated voter list is the fourth effort of the present Election Commission (EC) to prepare an acceptable voter list.

Against the backdrop of widespread allegations that the updated voter list contains over one crore 'excess or duplicate' voters, the EC on Tuesday decided to correct the mistakes by sending its staff to door-to-door visits for eight days from December 8 to 15.

The updating process in the capital, however, appeared slow as the enumerators were found visiting only a few areas in the city.

Residents of Mirpur-10, Hazaribagh, Maniknagar, Merajnagar, Khilgaon, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi and the old parts of Dhaka, said the field level officials did not visit their areas.

Around 1.4 lakh enumerators are supposed to correct the list by checking whether any eligible voter is left out or if any fake or duplicate name is on the list.

Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) in its recent survey said the present list contains about 12.2 million excess voters due to duplications of names or other errors.

The decision came following the persistent demand by Awami League-led 14-party coalition that fake voters were enlisted to rig the upcoming elections in favour of BNP-Jamaat alliance.

While visiting section no 6 and 10 in Mirpur area, Maniknagar, Maghbazar, Merajnagar and Hazaribagh, this correspondent found several field level staff of the EC at section no 6 in Mirpur only.

Several field level officials in the city, on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star that they were not given any proper guideline for inclusion and deletion of names on the voter list.

"The instructions we got were much complex and the voters are not interested to follow the procedure," said an official.

For example, for new inclusions the voters have been asked to provide documents like birth and educational certificates to prove their age, decreasing the interest of the voters.

For correcting duplications, someone like the landlord of the enlisted person who does not live in the area anymore or some other witness has to fill up form no 7, a process which is quite complicated.

Mamunur Rashid, a field level EC staff, who is also a teacher of a school at Mirpur- 11, stayed all day in his Mirpur- 6 residence instead of going from door-to-door to correct the voter roll, as he did not know what is responsibilities are.

He said his superior official, assistant registration officer, asked him to go to his office today to take further instructions.

Some of the schoolteachers also said they could not start work as the final exam in their schools has not completed yet.

Some officials also showed disinterest in the work saying they are not happy with the amount of their wage. “Earlier we were told that we will be paid Tk 500 for three days but the working period has been extended to eight days, and we are yet to know about the payment for it,” said another field staff.

Referring to a house at Mirpur section 6, another field official Abdul Malek said he had cut off the names, who no longer stays there. “I have included the names who got in but I am not sure if it became a duplication.”

Meanwhile, resident of Mirpur area Afroza Begum expressed her annoyance saying, “Does it take four times to enrol a name in the vote list? Many like me has lost their interest in inclusion their names.”

Some field officials also supporter Afroza saying that many voters had closed their doors seeing them repeatedly for a single task.

The EC in last August completed updating the existing voter list and came up with a list containing a staggering 9.30 crore voters, which triggered a wave of controversy over its correctness. It contained at least 1.28 crore unaccounted voters following the 2001 census report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Despite allegations of leaving out many eligible ones, the number of voters on the updated electoral roll stood at a staggering 9.30 crore as it registered 17 lakh more voters than the nullified draft of the fresh voter list.

In the capital, the percentage of rise in the number of voters is even more astounding. The percentage of fresh registration in Cantonment area is 77.83, in Motijheel 74.26, Pallabi 73.96, Dhanmondi 72.66, Mirpur 71.92, and Uttara 68.96. The Kotwali area, however, witnessed only 28.52 per cent rise while other areas witnessed 45-61 per cent rise.

The average percentage of deletion in the capital is 33.62.

BOGRA

Following orders of a BNP leader, an assistance registration officer (ARO) yesterday enlisted 34 names and cut off several others from the voter list sitting at BNP office, instead of making going door-to-door visits.

ARO Rafiqul Islam enrolled the names following orders of Bogra Town BNP Organizing Secretary Mahabubur Rahman Lulka yesterday morning, reports our senior reporter from Bogra.

Lulka, who is also BNP nominated word commissioner for Bogra Municipality, admitted that he submitted some new names for inclusion and omission.

Rafiqul admitted the matter, for what he was later closed.

NARAYANGANJ
In Narayanganj, the correction work is yet to start although district election officer Hamidul Haq claimed it 'started in full swing'

Nobody from the election commission office showed up in any of the houses, said the city dwellers.

Hamidul said 66 AROs and 2,154 employees have been assigned to carry out the task of correction of voter list in the district failing to say clearly where actually the procedure took place.

Source: The Daily star
http://thedailystar.net/2006/12/09/d6120901022.htm

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