Commission will lose neutrality if players do not cooperate: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin hoped on Thursday that the political parties will participate in the election and the Election Commission (EC) aims to act as a neutral referee.

“But if the players (political parties) do not cooperate, the Election Commission will lose its neutrality, and the entire election process will be questioned,” he warned.

The CEC made the remarks during a dialogue with political parties at the Election Bhaban conference room in Agargaon in the morning.

Although the Election Commission has banned posters, the city of Dhaka remains covered with them. On this, the CEC said the current situation is unintended.

“If parties remove the posters on their own initiative, that will be the most courteous approach. The commission will not tolerate any violations of the code of conduct,” he added.

Addressing pressure on the commission under ‘special circumstances’, the CEC noted that conducting elections under a special situation and government has brought various pressures on the commission. He therefore urged all election participants to provide several times more cooperation than before.

Nasir Uddin also expressed concern over the misuse of social media, describing it as a potential calamity or major threat to the electoral process.