Editorial

Don't waste time anymore

Go for door-to-door enumeration immediately
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his office never cease to surprise us by its twiddle de twiddle dum positioning on the voter list. Immediately on heels of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissing CEC's appeal to go forward with a fresh voter list and ruling that he update the existing voter list instead, he opted for revising the voter list based on information gathered from the controversial list he had prepared de novo. His office gave the newsmen to understand that the method of door-to-door collection of data will be dispensed with. Senior jurists and former election commissioners refuted the EC's argument saying if information on household-to-household were not collected to delete the deceased since 2001 and add the 18-year and above generation eligible to vote to the list, the action will be tantamount to committing an unlawful and illegal act.

We now see the EC taking a 'close look' at the Supreme Court verdict along with the observations made and direction given thereunder and deciding that they will update the 2001 electoral roll alright, but stuck to their other decision of not visiting door-to-door for the same.

We are relieved by the CEC's shifting of position to updating the list, but thoroughly disappointed to know that the voters will have to trek to upazila or district level election offices of their own initiative for registering their names, instead of enumerators visiting their homes for the purpose. But mind you, preparation of an authentic voter list is the constitutionally mandated job of none other than the election commission itself. It is not for the individual to do it.

If the enumerators don't visit door-to-door how can the fraudulent voters and the deceased be kept out of the voter list and the newly eligible ones added to it?

In a related matter, the EC's position apparently is that the dead will be deleted on receipt of information or 'a complaint'. Supposing, this is not brought to the notice of the EC, then what? Obviously, the deceased will be on the list, and in that event, can there be any guarantee against his/her ballots being stuffed by somebody else.

This by itself is good reason why house-to-house enumeration is a compelling necessity and that there is still time for the exercise to be undertaken, given our fairly good transportation network. It all depends upon will; is there one?