CEC KM Nurul Huda: Elections under party govt is the panacea

CEC KM Nurul Huda. File photo

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Friday said holding generation elections under party government is the only solution although it is difficult a difficult task.

He made the remark while addressing a function titled “RFED Talk with KM Nurul Huda" arranged by Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at Nirbachan Bhaban.

Nurul Huda said there is a difference between holding elections under a party government and holding elections under a military government during an emergency period.

“The Shamsul Huda Commission was praised. The environment then was different…the situation was like the state of emergency. The election was held with the blessings of cantonment. However, this situation did not help the democratic environment,” he said.

Mentioning that democracy allows open environment, the CEC said elections cannot be held at the gun point as it requires and open environment.   

“There will be mistakes; there will be conflicts; there will be debates; there will be processions; there will be meetings as seen at present. This is the environment (of democracy,” he said.

Nurul Huda said now elections are being held in political atmosphere and it is difficult to hold elections but it is possible. “We have to go through this (the present situation),” he added.   

Responding to a question, he said the “allegation of voting at night” in the 11th parliamentary elections was not true at all.

None, not even the candidates, did submit any allegation to the Election Commission in this regard, the CEC said adding even no one went to court on this point. “As a result, taking votes at night time is merely an allegation,” he added.

He said Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder always criticises the Commission as the Sujan secretary did not get personal benefits from it.

“After I took charge of the Commission, he (Badiul) came to me several times to work with us. He criticised the Commission for not giving him the chance to work,” Nurul Huda said.

Highlighting different activities and programmes carried out under the present EC he said over 7.6 crore smart cards have been prepared and of those, about five crore have already been distributed.

“Many rules of the EC have been translated into Bangla. Voter lists have been updated at various levels,” he said.

Claiming that the Commission did not feel any pressure from political parties in discharging its responsibilities, Nurul Huda said: “We were able to work as per our choices. It is not possible for the EC to control clashes and violence in elections unless the candidates become tolerant.”

Replying to another query, he said the use of cent percent Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) would not be possible in the next general election, but those could be used in 50 percent of polling centres.

The CEC said he did not claim that he has been cent cent percent successful during his tenure as the head of the Commission in the last five years but there was no lack of sincerity.

Chaired by RFED president Soma Islam and moderated by its general secretary Kazi Jebel, the meeting was attended, among others, by EC Secretariat secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker and EC Secretariat joint secretary (Director Public Relations) SM Asaduzzaman. – News Desk with agency reports