Election Reform Commission chief Badiul Alam Majumder said the Election Reform Commission will submit its report by December 31. He told reporters after a view-sharing meeting on electoral reform at the District Commissioner’s conference room on Sunday afternoon.
People from different classes and professions expressed their opinions at the meeting. Two other members of the commission, Tofail Ahmed and Jasmine Tuli, were present.
He said, “The Election Commission (EC) will decide who will come to the elections, who is eligible and who is not eligible. Our job is to make proposals for electoral reform.”
Noting that everyone wants a fair election, Badiul Alam Majumder said, “What we have realized is that there is interest, emotion and excitement among the people. Where people want to say two things when they see us. They want to express their desires. They want to make various proposals. Their desire is to have a fair and impartial election. Through which our democratic system will stand on a solid foundation. This is the people’s desire. Our desire too. We are working towards that goal.’
He further said, ‘We will give several proposals. But implementation is not our responsibility. Implementation will be done by the government.’
In response to another question, Badiul Alam Majumder said, ‘As citizens, many have made clear statements. They do not want to be used anymore. They want fair and impartial elections. So we are trying to fulfill our duty in that way. And many kinds of false and misleading information are given in the affidavit. Information is hidden. We are considering making proposals so that these are verified. Our proposals have not been finalized yet.’
Regarding the deadline, Badiul Alam Majumder said, ‘Our deadline has been set. Our notification was issued on the 3rd. We hope to give recommendations by the 31st (December). And there are widespread demands regarding the elections. The chief advisor said that the election train should get on the track. For this, the first task was to form the Election Commission. They (the government) have done that. There is no conflict between our work and theirs. They have many other works. Various works including the preparation of the voter list. The works need to be started.’
Badiul Alam Majumder said, ‘We will have recommendations regarding the reform of our electoral system. There are strong proposals both for and against proportional representation. We are taking everything into consideration. However, one more thing needs to be known here, these decisions are not ours. The constitution needs to be changed for these. So the commission that was formed to change the constitution needs to make recommendations in this regard.’
Regarding the court’s verdict regarding the caretaker government system, Badiul Alam Majumder said, ‘A few things will happen in the future. One is that the High Court’s verdict will go to the Supreme Court. We hope that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the High Court. There is another case, the case to cancel Khairul Islam’s caretaker government, we have also approached the court. That is regarding the review. Then the Constitutional Reform Commission will make proposals and as far as I know, to include these in the constitution, a bill will have to be tabled in parliament. After the bill is tabled and passed, it will be included in the constitution.’
Indicating that there will be no more elections using the EVM system, Badiul Alam Majumder said, ‘Regarding the errors in the voter list, we will propose that the corrections be made. There is more corruption associated with this, so that they end. We have had a meeting with the Election Commission. We have clearly said about the NID and the voting rights of expatriates.’
