TDS Desk:

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin commented that he wants to collectively eliminate the deprivation of 180 million people.

He made this remark during the inauguration of the voter list update program in Savar on Monday morning.

The CEC said: “Our civil servants are protesting at the public administration office, claiming their demands. They are deprived, they are victims of deprivation. Where will these 180 million people, who have been deprived, go? Whom will they tell about their deprivation? Who will address their deprivation? The Election Commission!”

“We want to collectively eliminate their deprivation. They have been deprived of the right to vote for so long! Finally, the opportunity has come to us, Insha Allah we will take this opportunity.”

Addressing the journalists present, the CEC further said: “I seek your cooperation. Without your support, we will not be able to reach our goal. The struggle to fulfill the promises we have made to the nation will be difficult without your cooperation.”

The voter list update program was inaugurated with the slogan “I will be a voter with accurate information, I will vote in the election,” through an event at the Savar Upazila Parishad. This marks the beginning of the nationwide voter list update campaign.

During the event, the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners shared various details about the update process and provided guidance for conducting the update with accurate and correct information. Later, at 12pm, the Chief Election Commissioner inaugurated the information collection process by releasing balloons and pigeons at the Savar Upazila Parishad.

In their speeches, the election commissioners urged the information collectors to ensure the correct entry of name, age, and permanent address according to birth registration or educational certificates during the update process.

They also stressed the importance of being cautious to avoid double voting or including names in the voter list more than once. They sought everyone’s cooperation in ensuring a 100% accurate voter list update.

Meanwhile, new voters who are included in the voter list for the first time are excited. They are hopeful for a fair and impartial election and the opportunity to exercise their voting rights.

In this data collection process, the Election Commission’s appointed data collectors will visit homes to gather information from citizens born on or before January 1, 2008, and from those who were previously excluded from the update process. A total of 60,000 data collectors will be working nationwide. The process will continue until February 5. The data collectors expressed optimism about completing the task efficiently.

The event was chaired by the Additional Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, K M Ali Newaz, with special guests including the DIG of Dhaka Range Police, A K M. Awlad Hossain, the Divisional Commissioner of Dhaka, Sharif Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, and Election Commissioners Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazal M Sanaullah, Anwarul Islam Sarker, Begum Tahmida Ahmed, and Abdur Rahmanel Mashud.