Though there are provisions on collecting information visiting every house for updating the voter list, the process of voter registration is being carried out at a ward unit office of ruling Awami League in Tejgaon, Dhaka. People who want to be enlisted as voters are being asked through local mosque’s loud speaker to go to the AL office with necessary documents. Experts said registering of voters at a political party’s office is illegal and it would make the voter list questionable.
People were seen coming to the office of AL’s Dhaka metro (north) unit’s ward no. 24 in Tejgaon on Saturday evening. A data collector, recruited by the election commission (EC), was registering the voters there.
As per the voter list law, the data collector has to visit houses of a certain area to register voters. The law also says in no way a person involved with any political party directly or indirectly can be considered as data collector or supervisor so that the voter list cannot be disputable. But now the voter registration is going on at the office of a political party.
Two teams have been collecting data in Dhaka North City Corporation’s ward no. 24 (south-east Tejgaon industrial area, voter area no. 1228). Teachers of Shaheed Monu Miah Government High School in Tejgaon are in one team while the teachers of Ideal Pre-Cadet and High School are in the second team.
Both the teams have been collecting data sitting at the AL office in the ward, said local people. They also said announcements are made through the loud speakers of the mosque by the office of AL. Data collection is going on from afternoon to night every day.
The teachers would go to the homes for data collection. Many people come to the market, maybe that’s why any data collector sat at the office and some local people announced this on the mosque’s PA system
A visit to the AL office at around 6:00pm on Saturday showed a data collector was sitting at a corner of a big table with the voter registration form of a female voter in her hand. She was speaking to another person who wanted to know how his son could be a voter. After learning details, the data collector asked the person’s son over mobile phone to come over to the AL office with required documents including his birth registration certificate. A few minutes later the youth appeared there with the papers.
Prothom Alo spoke to the man and his son. The youth is Muhibul Hasan Rizvi. His father Md Borhan Uddin told Prothom Alo that he came to know from a local school that a voter list is being prepared at the ward AL office. Besides, this was announced in the local mosque’s PA system.
Speaking about working on voter registration at Awami League’s office instead of going to houses, data collector Kabita Rani Bhadra told Prothom Alo, “I do not sit here. I went to houses but many people were not available. I’ve come here as one of my colleagues will give me some papers.”
But this correspondent found Kabita Rani filling the voter registration form of Rizvi at the AL office. A few minutes later a housewife, Lovely Naser, arrived there to register her daughter as voter. She said it was announced in the mosque’s loud speaker that the voter list is being made here. She further said her landlord’s son also registered his name at the AL office. No one went to her home, she alleged. She has come to the office with required papers she was told from this office earlier.
Updating the voter list at the ruling party’s office is not only destroying the authenticity of the list, but also creating scope for making it politicised. This could be a reason to raise questions about the next (12th) Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) elections. An authentic voter list is essential for a fair election
Regarding this, Abul Kalam, AL president of ward no. 24, said the work of voter list of unit-2 of ward-24 is being conducted there. They were told about this from the local councillor’s office. That’s why they have allowed to use the party office. This was announced at the mosque’s PA system at their initiative, he added.
Pressed on Abul Kalam said the list is being done in a non-partisan way, everyone is coming over here.
Md Shafiullah, president of local thana Awami League and councillor of DNCC's ward-24, however, contradicted Abul Kalam. He claimed he was not aware of any such work.
“The teachers would go to the homes for data collection. Many people come to the market, maybe that’s why any data collector sat at the office and some local people announced this on the mosque’s PA system,” said Md Shafiullah.
It is the EC’s duty to update the voter list every year visiting houses. But the EC did not do this in the last two years due to Covid-19. The task began on 20 May across the country. It will be completed in four phases. Data collection started in Tejgaon area from 30 July and will continue until 19 August.
Tejgaon area’s election official Khairunnahar told Prothom Alo, “The work is not supposed to be done at any political party’s office. Everyone was supposed to visit houses to collect the data.”
She further said she would enquire and issue directives in this regard.
Experts said though the voter list is supposed to be updated by visiting houses, the work is not being carried out properly. That’s why the number of female voters is declining gradually though according to the latest population census report the number of female is more than the number of male in the country.
They also said the number of female voters was more than the male voters during the parliament election in 2008. But now the number of male voter is higher (51 per cent). The voter list was not updated by visiting every house due to Covid-19 in the last two years. This could be one of the reasons of decline in the number of female voters, they added.
Badiul Alam Majumder, general secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), a civic body, said the voter list with photograph made in 2007 was a matter of pride for the country. But it is being destroyed gradually since the time of Nurul Huda (election) commission. The number of voter is declining. This suggests the work is not being done visiting every house. This has made the voter list questionable.
He further said updating the voter list at the ruling party’s office is not only destroying the authenticity of the list, but also creating scope for making it politicised. This could be a reason to raise questions about the next (12th) Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) elections. An authentic voter list is essential for a fair election, he added.
* The report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza