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Chief Elections Commissioner KM Nurul Huda has held a press conference on 42 citizens’ letter to the president demanding an investigation into allegations of financial irregularities, opaque hiring and corruption.
In response to a letter sent to the President on December 14, the Chief Elections Commissioner said the allegations of financial wrongdoing against him were not objective. Accusations of increased public confidence in the elections are also unfounded. 60 to 70 percent of the votes are cast in elections.
The Election Commissioner was present with the Chief Elections Commissioner at today’s press conference held at the Elections Building in Dhaka. Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam, Brigadier General (retired) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury. The CEC read the written statement. However, no questions were taken from journalists at the press conference.
Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder was not present at the press conference.
Tk 2 crore financial misconduct allegations such as fees without giving speeches for voter training, Tk 4 crore 8 lakh irregularities in the Election Commission staff hiring process, financial misconduct of three commissioners for illegally using three vehicles, serious faults and irregularities in the purchase and use of EVM. At the press conference it was stated that it was not correct.
In a written statement, it was said that in the training of 6-7 lakhs of manpower for the smooth conduct of the elections, fees of 15 special speakers were allocated for the eleventh Jatiya Sangsad and Tk elections. Under the plan, 15 special speakers with training have been honored. The Secretary of the EC has had the honor of being the advisor of the training course. The unused money has been returned to the treasury.
The Electoral Commission alleged that all processes of the money spent were based on documentary evidence, in which case there was no scope for financial irregularities.
The CEC stated that there was no allocation of Rs 2 crore in the action plan for 15 special speakers for election training. In that case, the accusations made are unfounded and motivated.
At the beginning of the written statement, the CEC said that it had recently heard that 42 citizens of the country had appealed to the President to take action through the Supreme Council of the Judiciary on various complaints against the Electoral Commission through a virtual conference. The commission statement needs to be clarified as there is confusion in people’s minds. The CEC said commissioners have not received authorized vehicles in the past three years. The car he was using was used in the commission office. The complaints of irregularities in the vehicles of the electoral commissioners are not objective.
The CEC also stated that there was no corruption in the recruitment process and in the purchase and use of EVM, adding that the Electoral Commission had not made any transactions in the purchase of EVM. The entire EVM purchase project has been handled by the Army. Noting that EVMs in Bangladesh are technologically advanced compared to EVMs used in India, the CEC said that it is not appropriate to compare EVM prices in the two countries.
Likewise, the commission has also refuted the accusations made by prominent citizens about misconduct and irregularities in various elections. In this regard, the CEC said that foreign diplomats have observed the 2016 parliamentary elections. The monitoring agencies also did not file any complaints. The commission has taken action only after receiving complaints in local parliamentary elections.
The CEC claimed that national and local elections were taking place amid fierce competition. The vote is 70 to 80 percent. Two to eight candidates for each position or position. So people have lost confidence in the elections, this is unfounded.
Read more:
Corruption accusations against the EC: 42 call for the formation of the ‘Supreme Judicial Council’
