Staff unwilling to do voter listing again
Blast EC over due remuneration
Staff Correspondent
Over a hundred field level officials in the capital, who were recruited last year and employed during the preparation of the controversial 'fresh voter list' from January to May this year, yesterday expressed their unwillingness to work for the preparation of the electoral rolls from tomorrow. Field level officials outside the capital also expressed the same view, several district election officers yesterday said, adding that they cannot express their opinion openly, as they are employees in different government offices. The field level officials -- assistant registration officers (AROs) -- who are mostly school teachers, at a meeting with an election officer under Dhaka district, also blasted the Election Commission (EC) for not providing them with due remuneration for the voter listing job from January to May. Besides, the AROs expressed fear of insecurity. "We are helpless.............We have nothing to do but continue the task as we are government employees," a teacher of a government high school said at the meeting with the election officer. "I spent Tk 2,600 for preparation of the fresh voter list, but you have paid only Tk 1,000. Who will pay for the rest of the amount that I spent for photocopying and conveyance?" said another schoolteacher who worked for the fresh voter list that the Supreme Court later declared illegal. In response to the district election officer's request for starting publicity with microphone in their areas, a number of AROs questioned who would pay for it. The election officer assured them of providing the expenditure, but they were not convinced. Questioning the justification of deleting names from the voter list solely on the basis of one's complaint, an ARO said, "It will be difficult for me to examine complaints about fake voters as well as the applications for inclusion of new names." "If a few hundred people demand application forms at a time and I can not provide it, they may even attack me. Who will give me security?" a schoolteacher said at the meeting. Talking to the press after the meeting, several of the AROs, however, declined to tell their names fearing 'consequences'. Shamsul Alam held three meetings at his office with the AROs under nine thanas in the capital. Each of the AROs was provided with four kinds of forms for their task -- 1,000 forms for applying for inclusion, 1,000 for inclusion, and 900 for correction and deletion of names on the voter list, sources said.
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