Staff Correspondent:

Holding a free and fair parliamentary election will be easier for the Election Commission if the National Consensus Commission can get all political parties to promise they will take action against candidates for violating the electoral code of conduct, said Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday (March 2).

“The Consensus Commission can take an initiative where they invite the political parties and ask them whether they truly want a fair and acceptable election. If they agree, then a written commitment should be taken from them stating that they will abide by the election code of conduct, take party-level action if their candidate engages in any misconduct, and fully cooperate to ensure a peaceful election,” he said.

“If such a consensus is reached and a written commitment is obtained, there will be collective pressure on the parties to adhere to the code of conduct. This, I believe, would make our [EC’s] task much easier,” said the CEC.

Speaking as the chief guest at a rally marking the National Voter Day, he said they have found a consensus on the subject of holding a free, fair and participatory 13th national election.

“We did not need a commission to reach a consensus on this issue. No one said they do not want a free, fair, and participatory election,” he added.

Talking about the vow that the EC has made to the country’s people, Nasir said they do not have any other agenda than holding a free and fair election.

“Wherever I go, people look at me with expectations. The country’s people have huge expectations from us, which makes me concerned about how to reach these expectations,” he added.

During the event, the CEC also said the EC alone cannot hold an acceptable election, rather they need everyone’s support in this regard.

“The Bengali people are dreaming about a new Bangladesh, and the victims of the mass uprising will be betrayed if this cannot be achieved or somehow we backtrack from realising the dreams,” he further said.

“People could not vote in the previous days. Now the time has come to establish the right to vote, and this right will be established fully when we will be able to cast our votes. Voting is not only a right of the citizens now, it’s a duty of the people,” Nasir said.

Stating that the differing opinions of political parties do not make him hopeless, he hoped that the political parties would somehow reach the same conclusion.

“The differing opinions of political parties are the beauty of democracy. Each party has their own perspective and they will definitely speak from their positions. I don’t know why we can’t accept this fact. I view it from a different angle,” he said.