The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A majority of voters who cast votes in the four-city corporation and nine pourasabha elections faced confusion and harassment as the serial number of their identity cards carried by them and their voter serial numbers did not tally.

Both the polling officers and the voters became confused over the issue that delayed vote casting and stretched voters queue ever longer.

Election Commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain said the card given to the people is national identity card, not voter identity card. The Election Commission (EC) has asked the voters not to go to the polling centres with this card.

He claimed that the EC has carried out huge campaign mentioning it as the national identity card but the media was still publicising it as voter identity card.

But messages from the field level say neither the voters nor the polling officers were informed about the ECs publicity regarding the national ID card and the voter ID card. There was a common perception that the card would be used for voting purpose.

One of the reasons of foiling the national election of January 22, 2007 was voter identity card. In the history of Bangladesh voter identity card was given to people once in the 90s.

Earlier, it was a rule that voters will enter the pooling centres with voter serial number. But this time they entered the centres with the card.

However, Election Commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain said experience of this election will be helpful in future for casting votes with photograph added voter list.

Our Correspondent Tapan Chakrabarty from Barisal reports voters had complained slow vote casting due to complicacies over identity card issue. Mayor candidates Ahsan Habib Kamal, Ebaidul Haque Chan, Enayet Peer, Shawkat Hossain Hiron also complained slow progress of vote casting while talking to newsmen and poll observers.

Our Correspondent Nasima Muneer from Khulna reports a voter had to wait in a long queue for more than two hours to cast vote. A voter, housewife Asma Khatun told the correspondent that she thought she would go back home for preparing food for lunch after casting vote but she was locked in the queue.

Our Correspondent Bashiruddin from Sylhet reports only 25 to 30 per cent voters carried identity cards with them. Carrying the identity card was not mandatory for the voters. Voting went on peacefully.