City polls: BNP places 21-point demand to EC

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury today placed a 21-point demand to the Election Commission including the scrapping of its decision to use the Electronic Voting Machine in the upcoming Dhaka north and south city corporation elections scheduled for January 30.

“EVM is a silent method of stealing votes. Election results will be manipulated through the programming system of the EVMs,” Amir Khasru said while talking with reporters at Election Commission office this evening.

Earlier, Amir Khasru along with his party’s two mayoral aspirants Tabith Awal and Ishraque Hossain held a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda at his office in Dhaka.

“We don’t know anything about the programming of the EVMs and there is no paper trail system for verifying the device. It is totally dependent on presiding and assistant presiding officers. It cannot ensure voting rights of people,” he said.

Only four countries out of 200 across the world are using the EVMs and these four countries have no questions regarding impartialities of the Election Commissions and administrations, he said citing logic in supporting the demand.

He said he informed the CEC that his party men are being harassed and arrested by the administration and police ahead of the elections.

A councilor candidate was arrested, a BNP man was abducted and later found in Munshiganj while unidentified men vandalised house of a female candidate, he alleged.

“In the replay, the CEC assured us that no one will be arrested till January 30 unless they breach the electoral code of conduct,” he said.

In the demands, Amir Khasru urged the CEC to issue an order to the owners of all licensed arms for deposition of their arms to the concerned police stations for holding the election in a free and fair manner.

During the election, no camp will be allowed within the 500 mitres area of a polling centre and the area will have to keep under the purview of the armed forces, he said in the demand.

Uninterrupted access of the local and foreign election observers and journalists to the polling centre will have to be ensured, he said.