Voter awareness vital for fair polls: President

President Abdul Hamid yesterday said there should be initiatives to make the voters aware of their rights and responsibilities.

"The more the voters will be aware, the more the election will be fair," he was quoted by UNB as saying.

The call comes a day after the poor voter turnout in Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral by-polls demonstrated what experts said was a sign of people's diminishing confidence in the country's electoral system.

Commentators have been pointing out that many people who were deprived of their voting rights in several previous elections might have lost interest in polling. Many voters expressed similar sentiments to reporters.

Delivering his speech as the chief guest at a "National Voter Day" porgramme organised by the Bangladesh Election Commission on its premises, the president said, "We have to choose appropriate leadership from the grassroots to the national level. The most acceptable method of leadership selection is the voting system."

The EC observed National Voter Day for the first time with the theme "I will be a voter, I will cast vote."

Although holding election is the constitutional responsibility of the EC, everyone irrespective of their party and opinions have to extend cooperation to make the election fair and acceptable, he said.

"Celebration of the National Voter Day is very important. If the day is observed properly at the grassroots level, it will create a positive impact on the democratic culture of the country.

"Then the political culture of peace, harmony, sympathy and tolerance would be developed instead of the blame game in politics. Democracy and development will advance to the desired goal."

He called upon journalists, teachers, members of civil society, Imams of mosques and all dignitaries of the society to come forward so that people could be enlisted in the voter list.

"Nearly a million people of Bangladesh live abroad. They are playing an important role in the country's economy by sending foreign currencies. But many of them do not have a national ID card. I think the Election Commission should take special initiative so that the expatriates could get national ID cards."

Source: thedailystar