CCC Elections

EC warns against violation of electoral rules

7 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Ctg

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hossain yesterday warned that none will be spared if found violating the electoral code of conduct during the campaign for the Chittagong City Corporation elections. The Election Commission (EC) working to hold the CCC elections in a free, fair and impartial manner in order to present it as a model election, he said at a training session for the polling officers at Dr Khastagir Government Girls' High School in Chittagong. Later, replying to queries from reporters, Sakhawat observed that the non-partisan local government elections appear to have turned into a partisan election contested by two or three parties. Addressing the training session, the election commissioner termed the blame game by candidates a rotten culture and urged them to shun the bad tradition of demanding resignation of the election commissioners after being defeated. He called on the candidates to show tolerance. He also called on the presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers to perform their duties with utmost sincerity and abide by all the rules to present a 'model election'. Sakhawat said that all necessary measures have been taken to hold a controversy-free CCC election, and expressed his satisfaction that the candidates are complying with the electoral code of conduct. “Enough members of the law enforcement agencies will be deployed at each polling centre and the presiding officer can call in members of the armed police, BDR, Rapid Action Battalion and the army, if necessary,” he added. Referring to the last parliamentary elections, seven by-elections and upazila chairman elections, he said those who were defeated in the elections brought allegations of rigging, but there was no legal basis of the allegations and no cases were filed in this connection. Terming the presiding officers as the backbone of an election, Sakhawat advised them to remain alert to suspicious activities of the polling agents who leave the polling stations and later make false allegations that they were driven away. If any polling agent wants to leave the polling centre, he must submit a written note, and no allegations would be accepted excepting the written ones, he added. The training for around 3076 presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers is being held at Dr Khastagir Government Girls' High School, Kazem Ali City Corporation High School and Kushum Kumari City Corporation School. Commissioner Sakhawat Hossain also held a meeting with the officials of law enforcement agencies and district administration and directed them to perform their duty without fear or favour to hold a free, fair and impartial election.