The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda Sunday said the EC might make a provision in its draft electoral reform proposals to debar any war criminals convicted by a court from contesting elections.

He reaffirmed that all the elections, starting from local to national polls, would be held as per the electoral roadmap drawn up by the Election Commission. And under the poll map, local elections are set to be held before holding the stalled general election.

"We've already stated in our roadmap that city corporation and municipal elections will be held before parliamentary elections. We're still sticking to this position," the Chief Election Commissioner told reporters in the afternoon.

In yet another major disclosure of election plans, the CEC said the Election Commission also targets to hold the long-overdue upazila elections before the parliamentary elections.

They, however, don't have any plan to hold union parishad elections before the national elections.

"Our roadmap won't be changed for any observation made by any expert from outside, unless we change it ourselves," CEC Huda categorically said when his attention was drawn to former adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan' s remarks that local elections should be held after national elections.

He said the EC is committed to holding four city corporation elections and also, if things are ready, the municipal elections.

Asked about acceptance if local-body elections go before national elections, the CEC said they spoke about holding the elections since it is acceptable.

"We may include a provision in our draft electoral reform proposals to bar the war criminals convicted by court from contesting polls," CEC Huda said when asked about any EC stand on the war-criminal issue, as most political parties went on clamoring for banning 'war criminals' from standing in polls as well as proscribing their parties.

The Chief Election Commissioner hinted that being convicted of war crime might be a standard of disqualification from election.

"We won't do anything as to who is war criminal and who not, but we' ll consider the matter (barring the war criminals from contesting elections) if anyone got convicted by court," he told the journalists.

"Now people are accusing persons on grounds of personal opinion, but they are not convicted by court," the CEC observed, adding that the EC could not work based on personal opinion.

About LGRD adviser Anwarul Iqbal's remark that there is precedence of holding national and upazila elections on same day and that it has advantages, CEC Huda said the EC did not get any concrete proposal in this regard.

"The incumbent caretaker government wants to complete the upazila elections. Because, the previous elected governments didn't hold it despite getting opportunity. I don't think that the elections will take place in future, if we don't do it," Iqbal on Sunday told reporters at his ministry.

About holding upazila elections concurrently with parliamentary elections, he said there is no obstacle to holding upazila elections along with parliamentary elections. "The people of Bangladesh are habituated to casting vote in two ballot papers at a time," he said.

About the adviser's remarks, CEC Huda said the EC could hold such elections if any request came from government side. "We'll sit to discuss the matter if we get any such request from the government," he said.

Based on the request, the EC would examine all the pros and cons of holding both the national and upazila elections on a same day and then there would be a decision taken in this regard, he added.

"Everyone is speaking it (holding both the elections on one day) verbally, but we're not getting any document," he said, adding that they didn't yet take any decision on it and would be tossing the idea up in the air.