EC plans mock voting ahead of local govt polls

The Election Commission (EC) is planning to conduct a mock voting before holding local government elections and has already prepared the five key components required for the polls, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said today.

Speaking to The Daily Star at his office at the EC headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon, Akhtar said the commission already possesses the necessary data and infrastructure to conduct the elections.

“We have a voters list, polling centres, and election materials. Candidates will also be there before the polls,” he said.

Explaining the preparations, he said one of the key requirements is the training of trainers, which is linked to the election schedule.

“When the election schedule is announced, then we will complete the training gradually and phase by phase. Initially, we will train the masters, who will train the other poll officials at different levels,” he said.

“We will also hold mock rehearsals. To make the election more smooth and meaningful, mock voting will be conducted this time. Then comes the law enforcement deployment plans, where it will outline how and where they will be deployed. Budgeting will follow accordingly,” he said.

He added that some preparatory tasks have already been completed, while others will be determined in due course.

The EC has already published the draft code of conduct for the five tiers of local government elections on its website since June 10 and sought feedback from political parties and other stakeholders.

Regarding the draft code, the EC secretary said work was continuing and the commission had already received feedback from several quarters.

EC asks DNCC, police to remove unauthorised NID-related shops

Meanwhile, the EC has requested the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station to evict illegal computer and photocopy shops operating in front of and around its Agargaon headquarters in an effort to curb irregularities in National Identity Card (NID) services.

The development was disclosed in a working paper prepared for the EC's monthly coordination meeting for June, which was made available today.

The document also noted that eviction drives have already been conducted.

EC officials said the letters were issued to ensure that such shops could not set up operations in front of the commission's headquarters.