‘I must thank the Election Commission’

Former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain yesterday welcomed the Election Commission's prompt action to suspend the by-polls to Gaibandha-5 amid allegations of irregularities.

He said some voting irregularities took place during the tenures of the last two ECs, but they didn't make such a prompt decision.

"I must thank the Election Commission for taking animmediate action. I found that the commission tried to hold a free and fair election through installing CCTV cameras and monitoring the polls situation from Dhaka," he told The Daily Star.

Sakhawat, a retired army brigadier general, said the by-polls once again showed that the EC alone cannot hold a free and fair election as the role of the field-level officials is very crucial.

Basically, the field-level officials conduct the elections and that's why they need to be proactive about holding polls in a free and fair manner, he added.

The former election commissioner urged the EC to investigate the role of the returning officer and the presiding officers concerned.

"If the commission finds any evidence of negligence by them, it must take steps against those responsible."

Referring to the EC's recent meeting with DCs and SPs, Sakhawat said, "There was an unpleasant situation for the Election Commission. The commission should think about how it would take election control measures in future through its field-level officials."

He said if such irregularities could take place in one constituency (Gaibandha-5), then what would happen when voting would be held in 300 constituencies during the parliamentary polls?

He said the commission was able to monitor the election situation from Dhaka and take prompt actions because it installed CCTV camerasin all polling centres in Gaibandha-5.

"If CCTV cameras are not installed in all polling booths in 300 constituencies and field level officials get involved in electoral dishonesty, then it would not be possible for the Election Commission to conduct a free and fair national election."

The former election commissioner suggested that the commission should not focus only on electronic voting machines, rather it should ensure the use of CCTV cameras which can be a good option for monitoring polls.