Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said election officials in Chittagong were asked to keep an eye on the Rohingyas so that their names could not be included in the voter list.
“But of course any Bangladeshi citizen can have his or her name included in the voter list. Special committees were formed in Chittagong Hill Tracts in this respect,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with Chittagong City Corporation councillors and other high officials at the Circuit House auditorium in the port city.
The meeting was attended by Election Commissioner Abdul Mobarak, Chittagong City Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Abdullah, Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin, Chittagong Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner AKM Shahidur Rahman and Election Commission Secretary Sirajul Islam among others.
“Today’s meeting had two purposes. First of all, we would like to extend our cooperation to women voters regarding registration. The other purpose is to struck off the names of the dead from the voter list. The mayor has assured us of complete cooperation in this regard,” the CEC said.
He said excluding the names of the deceased from the voter list was part of an ongoing process.
“But the necessary corrections as per the requirement are not being made. We are working so that none in the port city is excluded from the voter list. Updating the list is a continuous process.”
Rakibuddin said anyone who was wrongly excluded from the voter list should contact the EC. “Our door is always open for such people. We would like to present smart cards free from any fault.”
Speaking about local body polls under party banner, the CEC said: “It is the duty of the parliament to enact laws while the Local Government Ministry enacts laws that deal with local elections. We are supposed to act in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the country.”
“We have taken initiatives to hold municipal elections in December and they will be held on schedule and as per laws that will be in effect on the day when we announce the schedules,” he added.