Lutfunnahar – a resident of Senpara – started to search her name and voter number in the voter list at the Adarsha School in Mirpur at 8:30am yesterday; but after six hours of searching, she blamed it on luck and gave up her determined attempt to cast her first ever ballot.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune at 10am, she said: “When I started for the polling centre, my friend was telling me, ‘Do not waste your vote. You have to give it again within some months as this is one-sided election.’ I was foolish not to hear the advice.”
Similar frustrations were waiting for at least a thousand voters at the Adarsha School polling centre in Dhaka 15 constituency, where people found it difficult to vote as their voter list serial numbers did not match with those of the Election Commission’s.
Most of the voters had no clue about their serial numbers, as it was usually the candidates’ supporters who provided the voters with the serials.
Polling agents told Lutfunnahar to go back home as they could not match her name and holding number of her house.
At 1:30pm, Lutfunnahar went back home for lunch, but told the Dhaka tribune: “I will try till the end. I have the authority to exercise my right.”
Difficulties surrounding serial numbers were also cause for headaches to new voters who came to the Azimpur Girls School for casting their vote. The presiding officer said the problem was also faced by voters who had cast ballots in previous elections, adding that the reason behind the difficulties could not be found.
An Awami League activist admitted that much time could not be given to provide serial number to voters for this election. Only the names of respective polling centres, but not the serial numbers, were sent to the voters in the past two days, he added.
When the clock reached 1:45pm, Rafiqul Islam, presiding officer of centre number 97, announced that anyone would be able to give their vote by showing their national ID and there would be no need to match other identities such as voter number or serial number of voter list.
Soon after the announcement, Lutfunnahar returned to centre to join around five hundred more people waiting in queue. But they were told that none of them would be able to cast their vote because their pictures in the Election Commission’s list did not match with that of their ID cards.
Hearing this, Lutfunnahar broke into tears and left the centre for good this time, saying: “I will never come to cast my vote again.”
