Bangladesh
Elections 'Trust' is the motto for fair-acceptable elections: Rajeev Kumar
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, 17 October 2023: "Whatever you say about freedom of action, level playing field, the issue is one thing - it's trust. Recently, elections have been held in several states of India. There, the ruling party has been defeated in some places by a narrow margin, but in others it has been a defeat. Didn't question it. That's the belief."
The country's Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said this in an exchange of views with a delegation of Bangladeshi journalists visiting India on Monday afternoon. A few things are important for an acceptable election and these are their philosophy, he said, "First is to open up or publish the information. To make the election credible any activities should be disclosed to the political parties and the media, so that there is no doubt in their minds."
"If you want to set up a booth or issue any election rules, you have to take everyone. You have to reach all the parties. You have to inform everything about additions, corrections, subtractions. Everyone has to be informed about every process. If the election process is 100% transparent, the election will be acceptable. "
One's questions about elections can be properly answered through transparency and accountability. A candidate can also take his grievance to court. The duty of the commission is to satisfy the complainant by justifying their decision to the court.
In response to a question about the Election Commission of India, he said that the Election Commission is trusted by everyone. It didn't happen in a day. They had to prove themselves for a long time. Now able to gain people's trust and confidence.
Talking about the challenge of conducting the elections, he said, "We want to make everyone above 18 years of age a voter. We have started the process of making them vote by going home. Even transgenders are being made voters. Even if there is a voter in an island, we try to reach there. This is also one of the ways of voting. challenge."
Rajeev Kumar said, "The biggest challenge for any election manager right now is social media. Social media spreads misinformation and misinformation."
He said that importance is being given to technological advancement to make elections more vibrant and credible. In the meantime, voter help line app, voter turn out app, voter portal, political party and tracking management system, booth app etc. are being worked on, CEC said.
Talking about EVMs, he said, "We have been using EVMs for 40 years. Our EVM machines can be checked six months before the election by political party leaders if they want. The exact machine is installed in specific centers and specific booths. It can also be checked whether it is installed or not. The batteries of the machines are permanently charged. So there is no problem in data storage or during polling."
