Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said on Thursday that it is not possible to guard millions of voting booths by one man in the parliamentary elections.
The CEC made this comment during a meeting with the Trinamool BNP at the Election Commission Secretariat at Agargaon in the capital.
“But we cannot sit there and guard your house. One person can’t guard 42,000 centers and 3 lakh polling booths in parliamentary elections. It can only be possible with angels. So we will work as much as possible with human power and not with that divine power. I will monitor it,” he said.
“You mentioned the army. In the earlier discussion, each party talked about the army. We have noticed that the presence of the army is desirable,” he said.
“But we would like to see through TV whether the voters enter the booth. But after entering, we will not be able to see them. You do not have that right. We will see if the voter comes out peacefully, and then a bunch of journalists will interview him. If the media and observers are used, the voting will be transparent,” said the CEC.
After the meeting, Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, chairman of the party, said they want to participate in the next elections but don’t want an election like 2014 or 2018.
The Commission must gain public confidence, he said, adding that during the election, the EC must have direct or indirect control over each organisation involved with the election.
They also proposed the installation of CCTV cameras at every polling station during the voting process.
Source: The Daily SUN.