They said leaders and activists of different political parties try to influence the process of preparing voter list, while the women are prevented from being included in the voter list due to religious superstitions.

The discussion on 'Ensuring the voting rights of slum dwellers' was organised by Dhaka Development Forum (DDF) in association with Steps Towards Development at the Cirdap auditorium in the city.

"All impediments should be removed to ensure democratic rights of slum dwellers," said M Hafizuddin Khan, former adviser to caretaker government.

He said slum dwellers should be enlisted in the voter roll although many of them do not have holding numbers.

To overcome the problem, Hafizuddin suggested that arrangements could be made in such a way that they will vote at the centres which were used as the centre of preparing voter list.

He said voter ID card is a time-consuming and complicated process, which is why the EC should prepare only voter list with photographs. The slum dwellers and the NGOs working with them could approach the EC with such recommendations, he added.

In his keynote presentation Prothom Alo Special Correspondent Arun Karmakar said enlistment of women members of the slums is hampered due to superstitions and religious beliefs, but they were abused in casting fake votes in the elections.

"This damages public confidence in total voting process," he said, adding that awareness campaign in slum areas therefore should be strengthened.

The NGOs working on slums can also play role in this regard, he noted.

There might be an understanding between the EC and the NGOs on the matter, Arun said, suggesting that the authorities should be careful so that nobody could influence the slum women.

The slum owners or male members of the slums could also play important role in this regard, he added.

Step Towards Development Executive Director Ranjan Karmakar said the voting rights of slum dwellers should be ensured effectively because this right is linked to their human rights as well.

"The political parties always abused these people, but never thought to ensure their fundamental rights," he added.

Fatema Yusuf of Centre for Policy Dialogue said introduction of ID cards for the voters will solve many problems.

DCC official Khandker Millatul Islam, Ward Commissioner Nasima Mannan, and Abdur Rashid of Slum Rights Protection Committee also spoke at the discussion moderated by DDF Chairman Dr Mahmudur Rahman.