Bangladesh
EC Alamgir EC will resign for the sake of fair elections if necessary
Dhaka, March 17: Election Commissioner (EC) Md Alamgir said that he will not compromise for the sake of fair elections. If necessary, the Election Commissioners will withdraw themselves from their duties and responsibilities.
He said this in response to a question from journalists at his office in Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban on Thursday (March 16).
When journalists asked Alamgir what to do if he has to compromise, he said, "If we can't do the work we swore to do then why stay in this chair? All of us in the commission have the same attitude. Of course we don't believe if we can't have a fair election. I will step down if necessary."
In response to the question "whose responsibility is it to break the idea that voting will not be fair under the party government", he said that it is the responsibility of the politicians to break it. The Election Commission has nothing to do here. It is a political problem. Political problems must be solved politically. There is nothing we can do about it. The constitution did not give us that responsibility.
Alamgir said, the responsibility of our election commission is to conduct the polls properly. There should be a level playing field even before the election schedule is announced. So that those who will participate in the election can campaign freely, so that the voters can come to the polling station and vote for the candidate of their choice, so that the counting of votes is done properly. It is our responsibility to ensure that the election results are accurately reflected. We are 100% committed to fulfilling that responsibility. We will do that. All we can say is whatever type of government there is. The current EC will conduct 100 percent fair and impartial elections.
In response to the question whether neutral voting is possible under the party government, the Election Commissioner said that it is possible if the commission wants. Elections are held under party governments in almost all countries of the world. It depends on how well the Election Commission performs its duties. If we do our duty properly (we have will) fair election is definitely possible. The commission of the past can tell why it could not be done in the past. The people of the previous commission and the current commission are different. Our behavior will not match their behaviour.
