Editorial
Voter registration quality assessed positively
Let's not rest on laurels, take follow up measures in earnest
It is a cheery piece of news that a survey sponsored by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has found the ongoing voter registration process in Bangladesh to be of international standard. The imperfections detected are 'negligible' and can be set right without difficulty. Admittedly though, it was a sample survey and not a national one, its coverage was not small either: 9,793 persons took part in it from as disparate places as Rajshahi City Corporation, Raozan Pourashava of Chittagong and Taherpur upazila of Sunamganj. The survey gave an idea of the trend and direction of things, which can be extrapolated for the entire operation.
All those associated with the process -- the army, the technicians and the teachers and, of course, the EC -- deserve our congratulations on completing by far the larger part of the operation successfully. It's a massive exercise undertaken for the first time in Bangladesh and a job well done so far. The fact that no 'act of fraudulence has been committed' reinforces the credibility of the exercise. The surveyors have discovered that most of the participants want the responsibility for voter list preparation to stay with the EC with political parties and NGOs having nothing to do with it.
The assessment by the independent monitoring group comes with a set of recommendations to perfect what has already been done and conduct the remainder of the operation in a fool-proof way. First, vigorous publicity of registration schedule and follow-up timetable for those who had been absent during the initial home visit of the enumerators is imperative. Second, it will be useful to involve union council members and ward commissioners in the publicity campaign to check on the missing voters and include them. Third, shifting dates in respect of delivery of voter identity cards should be avoided. Fourth, a permanent office needs to be set up for inclusion of legitimate voters and updating of registration all the year round. Last but not least, institutional arrangements will have to be made for replacement of damaged, lost and stolen ID cards.
We endorse the suggestions wholeheartedly, these being the crystallised opinions formed through monitoring the listing process and urge all concerned to implement them without fail.
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