EC determined to hold fair polls: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda today said that they are determined to hold a free, fair and flawless election in Dhaka north and south city corporations using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

“The forthcoming elections to Dhaka north and south city corporations will be held in an inclusive manner. We expect that all political parties would participate in the polls,” he said.

The EC was talking to reporters after exchanging views with election commission officials of district and upazila levels at Barishal’s regional election office this noon.

Amid BNP’s objection of using the electronic device from BNP, Huda supported the commission’s stance saying, “We will use the EVMs so that people can cast their votes in a free and fair manner.”

Sharing his previous experience in using the EVMs, the CEC said, “It is possible to hold an error-free election using the EVMs.”

The CEC, however, said no expert has said yet that the EVMs are an error-free method in conducting free and fair elections. “It is not true that the EVMs have been rejected from all countries across the world.”

He also called upon the voters cast their votes and candidates to bring their voters to the polling centres.   

The EVMs were first used in Bangladesh in the 2012 Chattogram municipality polls. It was later used in Narayanganj and Cumilla polls. The machines were also used in the 11th parliamentary election in small scale.