Senior leaders of AL, BNP, Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and Workers Party said the previous voter lists were prepared through door-to-door visits and that is considered to be the most-effective approach to enumeration.

The people in rural areas are not conscious enough to go to the camps on their own to be on the electoral register. And as a result, many might end up being left out of the roll, the leaders feared.

Talking to reporters at his office yesterday, Election Commissioner Sahul Hossain said the commission believes that the political parties will not oppose its decision to have camps across the country to prepare the voter list in phases.

"The Election Commission will do everything necessary to ensure that all prospective voters are registered," he said.

On the other hand, the leaders have called on the EC to take decisions in consultation with the political parties. They however appreciated the decision to engage the armed forces in the enumeration job.

"The rural people especially the women are not likely to visit the camps to record their names on the roll. So, the possibility remains that the voter list might be incomplete and faulty," AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told reporters yesterday.

Echoing the view, BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan said duplication or dropping of names occur even in the voter-listing through door-to-door visits. "Now what will happen if the job is done at the camps?" Khan questioned.

Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, told The Daily Star yesterday that they want the EC to decide on the enumeration procedure after discussion with legal experts and the major political parties. "We are in fact waiting for talks with the Election Commission," he added.

Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said fairness of the voter roll will come into question if it is prepared at camps as in that event a large number of people risk being counted out.

Jatiya Party Presidium Member GM Quader said the EC should decide to go from door to door as well in a parallel method to ensure the electoral roll is flawless.

Jalil said the chief election commissioner had earlier said that the political parties are their "main clients". In line with his remarks, all crucial decisions of the EC should follow discussions with the political parties.

"According to the electoral laws and the High Court directives, the enumerators should go from door to door to prepare the voter roll. The Election Commission should adhere to the rules," the AL general secretary noted.

He said it should not be hard to take photographs of the prospective voters by digital cameras while going house to house.

Jalil said only those who are 18 years old will be on the voter list while even a newborn baby will have to be listed for the ID cards. He said it would be easier to prepare the national ID cards once the voter listing is done.

Nazrul Islam Khan said the EC was supposed to talk to the representatives of different political parties before taking any major decision on electoral reforms and the next election.

The decision regarding preparation of the voter roll is obviously an important one and should be revisited, observed the BNP leader.

Last year, the commission led by Justice Aziz started updating the voter list. The procedure for the revision required those willing and eligible to be voters to visit different election offices. Soon it caused a huge uproar and people opted not to respond to the enumeration. Later, the EC had decided to visit door to door.

HASINA CAUTIONS
UNB adds: AL President Sheikh Hasina yesterday observed that "wasting" time by the EC in preparing the voter ID cards would not be good for democracy.

She was talking to reporters at the Crescent Hospital in Uttara where she went to visit Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon's wife Lutfunessa Beauty.

About the EC's decision to do voter-listing at camps instead of going door to door, she said the EC "cannot violate the electoral rules and the High Court verdict on preparation of voter ID cards".

The AL chief spent some time with Menon's wife and enquired about her health condition. She wished her early recovery.

Hasina observed that the anti-corruption drive seems to have ground to a halt. "The present administration had earlier caught some real corrupts, but now it detains people on political consideration," she added.

The AL president questioned if the anti-graft drive continued, how come "corrupt persons move freely". At that point, she mentioned names of BNP leaders Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Saifur Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar and Zahiruddin Swapan.

She blamed the caretaker administration for what she said was its failure to contain the prices of essentials.

Later, she went to Trauma Centre to see Jebunessa Begum Minu, sister of Sheikh Shahid.

Rashed Khan Menon and AL leaders Jahid Ashan Russel, Dr Dipu Moni, Dr Hasan Mahmud and Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury accompanied her in the visits.