Electoral offenders in last 3 polls should be punished: Dr Badiul Alam

Chief of the Electoral Reform Commission Dr Badiul Alam Majudar on Friday said the perpetrators of crimes committed in the last three general elections should be punished.

“Those who committed electoral crimes in the last three elections, they should be punished. The Election Commission (EC) committed the biggest crimes,” he said.

Dr Majumdar made the comments while addressing a shadow-parliamentary debate on the ‘Role of the EC, Candidates and Citizens for a Fair Election’ arranged by the Debate for Democracy at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) in the city.

He said the government is the most important partner in the elections after the EC. If the government doesn’t help, it won’t be possible even for a neutral Election Commission to conduct a fair election, he added.

About the newly constituted election commission headed by AMM Nasir Uddin, the reform commission chief said a tree is known by its fruits. “But, there is no big challenge for this EC. Because, unlike last time, there is no pressure from the ruling political party,” he said.

Dr Majumdar said many media didn’t provide true information about the last three national elections.

“The role of the media in elections is important. But in the last three elections, some media deliberately did not tell the truth, while some others were even forced not to tell the truth,” he said.

The reform commission chief said ensuring the participation of women voters and expatriate voters could be a challenge for the Election Commission.

Citing that the election system reform is important, Dr Majumdar said but time must be given for reform (in the electoral system).