"The Election Commission is an independent organisation to discharge its duties and it will not bow to anybody. There is nobody in Bangladesh who can threaten us. We shall not be threatened by anybody," he said replying to query on whether the EC's latest decision of going from door to door to update the voter list was made under pressure from any political party.

"We have taken the decision to go from door to door for effective implementation of the court's verdict and to show respect to the whole nation and the people who suggested updating of the voter list through door to door visits," Aziz claimed.

About the ongoing legal controversy over updating of the existing voter list, Aziz said some quarters from the very beginning of the task of preparing a voter list have been creating unnecessary controversies by providing misinterpretations of the laws.

"Some people and a quarter are spreading controversies and creating smoke screens by providing interpretations of the laws according to their wishes," he said defending his steps for updating the voter list.

Echoing the same views, Election Commissioner SM Zakaria said there is no confusion in the EC over updating the existing voter list. "The court directed to correct, amend and include names on the existing voter list. We are taking steps in accordance with the court's verdict and electoral laws," he claimed adding "but some people are spreading confusions unjustly."

"The existing laws have a provision for revising the existing voter list, but the court did not direct to revise the voter list. It instructed for corrections, amendments and inclusions of names on the existing voter list," Zakaria claimed.

Replying to a query about whether there was a necessity for amending the rules to make way for door to door visits, the CEC claimed it was necessary. "It was not possible to make door to door visits unless the rule was amended. People, who have interpreted that the amendment is unnecessary, are not correct. They are misinterpreting the laws," he said.

About the opinions of legal experts who have termed the EC's method of updating the voter list as wrong, Aziz said "They do not need to pay tax on words!"

In a written statement, Aziz described the procedure for updating the existing voter list.

He urged those people, whom he blamed for spreading controversies, to refrain from misleading the people and sought cooperation from cross section of the people in the process of updating the voter list.

The CEC however declined to comment about the expenditure of the ongoing task.

Ignoring the January 4 High Court directives for revising the existing voter list, the CEC had prepared a controversial fresh voter list with a cost of Tk 43 crore and published a draft list on May 3 enlisting 9.13 crore voters, which the Supreme Court on May 23 declared illegal by upholding the High Court directives.

NEW SECRETARY JOINS
The newly appointed secretary to the EC Secretariat Abdur Rashid, who was appointed on July 3 to the post, yesterday joined the secretariat.

Soon after being appointed the secretary to the EC Secretariat, Abdur Rashid started questioning the EC's method of updating the voter list and suggested door to door visits.

Having support of the government, Abdur Rashid also declared that he would suggest the EC to reconsider its decision of not to go from door to door. But before his joining the EC Secretariat, the government on last Thursday amended the Electoral Roll Rules providing the EC with special power for door to door visits.