e_Paper, Sunday, August 13, 2017

News 5
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2017
EC fails to update voter list on time
Countrywide allegations of inefficient EC field workers
DT
• Bilkis Irani
ELECTION
Even though the deadline for updating
the voter list ended on Wednesday,
the Election Commission (EC)
has failed to completely update the
list with first time voters.
EC field workers were supposed
to go door-to-door to find eligible
voters and carry with them sufficient
number of forms to collect
their information with. Neither
one of those things has been done
properly, the Dhaka Tribune has
found.
Locals alleged that there were
no campaigns in their areas about
the voter list updating programme,
the field workers did not show up
to their home but were working
from their offices or setting up stations
at local schools with limited
number of forms that they ran out
of very quickly.
Rokeya Begum who lives in
Malibagh said no EC official came
to her house during their door-todoor
data collection programme.
“Three members of my family are
now eligible voters but will not be
able to vote in the next elections
because no EC official came to update
their voter list here,” she said.
Some people were completely
unaware that this voter list updating
programme was going on, Mohsina
Karim from Moghbazar said:
“We had no idea this programme
was going on because there were
no campaigns in the area or any
officials coming to gather information.”
Reports of inefficient EC workers
has also surfaced from Cox’s
Election Commission has failed to update the voter list with new eligable voters around the country
Bazar, Jessore, Benapole, Rajshahi,
Barisal.
Our Cox’s Bazar correspondent
Abdul Aziz reports that in Chakaria,
Pekua, Ukhia, Teknaf, Ramu,
Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Maheshkhali
and Kutubdia upazilas the EC officials
held day-long programmes
at local schools instead of going
door-to-door for collecting voter
information. Many would be voters
were unable to get themselves on
the list because the officials ran out
of forms.
Abdur Rahman from Ghonapara
who is now an eligible voter, said:
“I could not get on the voter list because
nobody came to our house.
I found out that the updating programme
was happening at the local
school and I went only to be told
they ran out of forms.”
Our Jessore correspondent Mohammad
Selim Reja, reported similar
incidents. A teacher, Md Idris
Ali from Benapole also said that the
EC officials failed to show up at his
house. “The EC employed teachers
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
as data collector and supervisors,
they worked from home or their
schools and made zero effort in
getting the word out. They made
grade two, three students tell their
parents to come update the voter
list. That was the extent of their
engagement with the programme,”
he said.
A businessman from Jessore,
Aminur Rahman, said: “I have a
young adult daughter, who is now
eligable to vote but she is not on
the updated voter list because the
EC officials did not come to our
house.”
Our Rajshahi District Correspondent
Abdullah Al Dulal also
reported that there was very little
campaigning in the district and
very little engagement from the EC
officials in regards to the door-todoor
programme.
Rajshahi city resident, Shukur
Ali said, no EC official came to his
home or the area he lives in.
The acting EC secretary, Helal
Uddin Ahmed said, actions will
be taken against the officials who
have failed to meet their duty. “We
will take action against anyone
who gets a complain against them.”
He, however said the EC has not
failed in getting all the information,
saying: “We have been 100%
successful in collecting the updated
voter information.”
Some EC officials told the Dhaka
Tribune that a lack of campaigning
was to blame for the lacklustre results
this year. They said the EC did
not have sufficient funds for advertising,
miking and local campaigns
at mosques.
They said that in comparison to
other years, things like landslides,
floods and other natural disasters
were also partly to blame for not
having the entire list completed on
time.
An official of EC budget allocation
branch said, we allocated more
about Tk70cr and spent Tk56cr
in 2015. But in 2017, the budget is
only Tk41.30cr for the voter list updating
programme.
The draft of voter list will be
published on January 2, 2018 and
the final voter list will be published
on January 31. •
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
HEAVY RAINFALL
LIKELY
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2017
Dhaka 32 27 Chittagong 32 27 Rajshahi 31 26 Rangpur 29 25 Khulna 32 26 Barisal 32 27 Sylhet 30 24
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 6:34PM
SUN RISES 5:33AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
32.0ºC
23.6ºC
Bhola
Rangamati
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Cox’s Bazar 29 26
Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:44pm
Esha: 8:30pm
Source: Islamic Foundation