Impartiality will be questioned if pictures taken of ballots being stamped inside: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has called for coordination between the deputy commissioners (DC) and the superintendents of police (SP) during the national parliamentary election. Addressing the DCs and SPs, he said try to carry out the election well and in a coordinated manner.

Highlighting the main requirements of the election commission, Kazi Habibul Awal said, "The freedom of the voters to cast their votes must not be hampered. The voters must be able to cast their votes unimpeded. If the ballots are being stamped and sealed by anyone inside, pictures and videos can be taken and then our impartiality will be questioned. Why did this happen? This may point to our failure or inefficiency."

CEC Kazi Habibul Awal was addressing the start of a two-day training programme at the Election Training Institute (ETI) on Friday morning. He was speaking at the inauguration of the second phase of election management training for divisional commissioners, police commissioners, deputy inspector general of police, deputy commissioners, police supers, regional returning officers and senior district returning officers.

He told the officials at the event, "Carry out your duties in such a manner that the election is genuinely free, fair, impartial and peaceful. I do not know how you will try to do this because you have this knowledge, not me. Our message is for you to make the election peaceful and orderly. I cannot make it orderly, that is for you to do."

"You must understand the important of the election out of a sense of duty, not by force or power," said Kazi Habibul Awal, adding, "If there is need to use you power in the line of duty, then you will display your power or strength. If we cannot implement democracy literally and in spirit, this will be an example of our failure before the nation."

Also present at the event were election commissioners Brigadier General (retd) Ahsan Habib Khan, Rasheda Sultana, Md Alamgir, and Anisur Rahman. The EC secretary Md Jahangir Alam was also present on the occasion.