The New Nation - Internet Edition

VOTER registration of people living in the Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves, in Lalmonirhat district started last week but the process in other enclaves remained 'uncertain'. Several thousand people living in 49 other Bangladeshi enclaves may not be able to register as the Indian authorities are yet to respond to a request for permission to visit the enclaves through the Indian territory. The Election Commission has thus reportedly dropped its plan to go for voter registration in those enclaves. The EC selected 34 enclaves for voter registration and accordingly, in October last it sent a list of the selected enclaves to the ministries of home and foreign affairs to take the required steps in this regard.

The commission also planned to hold talks with all departments and agencies including Bangladesh Rifles about the processes of voter registration in all the selected 34 enclaves. Later, at the end of January, one election commissioner reportedly said that the commission planned to register voters in only two enclaves Dahagram-Angorpota because of 'time constraints'. The two enclaves of Dahagram and Angorpota are connected with the country's mainland through the Tinbigha corridor that is now being used under an accord with India as it has not yet been given to Bangladesh in exchange of Berubari handed over long ago.

There are 57 Bangladeshi enclaves inside Indian territory, while India has 111 enclaves measuring within Bangladesh. About 25 thousand voters were registered in 20 enclaves under the Lalmonirhat district in 1990 and for the first time they exercised their voting rights in the 5th parliamentary elections in 1991. Those who could have registered their names in the two enclaves, obviously, felt happy. The Election Commission should clear its stand why it has failed to register all the Bangladesh enclave people as voters to exercise their rights as citizens like many others living in the country.