Electoral preparations
Need to accelerate the process
Preparation of the electoral roll and finalisation of the electoral reform must be high on the agenda of the Election Commission.
Interestingly, the character of the electoral reform being talked about by the election commission (EC) and the tone of the discussion on reforms articulated by the political parties, as well as those that they had expressed through their manifestoes before the election of 2001, bear strong similarities. In fact there is a strong convergence on the issue among the major stake holders.
That being the case, where a national consensus, albeit unannounced, on political and electoral reform, exists, we feel that it sets the scene very well to formalise the necessary changes. In fact it augurs very well for the future talks between the political parties and EC since these can start from a point of advantage. Nobody can contest the need for an early dialogue between the political parties and the commission since it is essential that the opinions regarding reform are harmonised, put in a coherent form and adopted.
It therefore stands to reason that the nation would be keen to see any hiccup to the road to future dialogue removed. And we repeat what we have said in the past, that the ban on indoor politics ought to be lifted to facilitate dialogue.
The other issue that deserves equal attention, if not more, is the matter of the voter list. We feel that there is lot of merit in what the BNP secretary general has suggested regarding the need to move full throttle on the electoral roll preparation in order that the road map could be adhered to. We get the impression that there are snags that are still dogging the process of initiating the move to finalise the list in the manner that have been expressed by the EC i.e., with photographs. The snags that have been identified in the procedures, as exposed in the Sripur exercise, must be done away with. It must also be iterated that the process of acquiring appropriate equipment cannot brook any delay.
It is for all concerned to ensure that the process for holding a free and fair election is accelerated.
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