election 2008

Addressing the inauguration ceremony on the Sreepur Pilot High School premises, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda and Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed termed the project a milestone in the history of Bangladesh.
By starting the work, the EC has in fact set about a ‘historic journey’ towards a fully digital electoral roll, they observed.
“An electoral roll with photographs is needed to take the country a step forward by holding a free and fair election. We will have to do the job right in the greater national interests,” said CEC Huda.
Saying that the accuracy of the voter lists prepared in the past had often been questioned, he sought cooperation of the local people and political parties for successful completion of the project.
Army chief General Moeen noted that a flawless list with photographs is a prerequisite for the polls to be held in a free and fair manner.
He said the army has come forward with its manpower and equipment to help prepare the voter list in the interest of the country.
The main project will begin in August in the light of the experience to be gained from the pilot project, he added.
Election commissioners Sahul Hossain and Brigadier General (retired) M Sakhawat Hossain, GOC of the Nine Infantry Division Major General M Ashab Uddin and Military Secretary of the army headquarters Major General M Shafiqul Islam were present on the occasion.
Following the function, the CEC and the army chief visited the project site to inspect the work on voter list and national ID.
Under the three-week long test project, 30 registration centres have been set up in nine wards across Sreepur municipality and registration forms distributed among the households. Some 145 people have been assigned to gather information about the prospective voters. They will do the job from 8:00am to 7:00pm every day.
Local political leaders appreciated the EC move. “It’s a historic step. The voter list should be prepared with photographs,” former Awami League (AL) lawmaker Advocate Rahmat Ali told journalists.
Former president of Sreepur upazila BNP Abdul Motaleb said, “We all should take part in the project to complete it successfully.”
Shamima Akhter, who went to a registration centre to be on the roll, told reporters, “No one will be able to cast my vote as the list now has my photograph on it.”
Echoing the view, ZI Subed said, “Hopefully, fake voting will come down drastically once there is a voter list having photographs.”