The Election Commission is studying electoral systems and code of conduct of other democratic countries for framing the electoral code of conduct for the coming parliamentary election, chief election commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said Sunday.
‘We are studying how other democratic countries framed their electoral codes,’ he told reporters after a commission meeting at the EC office in the city.
‘The electoral code of conduct of those countries would provide the guidelines for formulating our electoral code of conduct,’ said the CEC.
Asked whether the EC would consult the political parties in preparing the electoral code, Rakib said, it would depend on the situation whether and with whom it would discuss the issue.
The EC is also studying the electoral systems in other democratic countries including in the United Kingdom and India, he said.
He said while formulating the electoral code of conduct the EC would keep in the mind that there must be a level-playing field for all.
‘We also have to keep it in the mind that no one gets extra electioneering advantage out of the electoral code of conduct we intend to formulate,’ said Rakibuddin.
Asked when the EC expects to finalize the electoral code of conduct for the coming polls, the CEC said the commission had time at hand to accomplish the task.
Asked whether the newly-formed Bangladesh Nationalist Front would be allowed more time to fulfill the conditions to get registered with the EC, he said, ‘We have given the BNF a chance as it raised objections that the EC’s field level inspection was not done in a fair manner.’
The BNF got the time to fulfill the conditions as it raised questions about the fairness of the reports submitted by the field level officials of the Election Commission, he said.
‘As it feels aggrieved, we formed three –member committees led by additional deputy commissioners (General) to look into the matter so that no further question is raised in this regard.’
He said the commission asked the committees to submit their reports as early as possible.
The CEC, however, could not say when the committees will complete their investigation.
An official said that the EC formed about 30 committees in as many districts to look into the objections raised by the BNF.
He said the EC had taken sufficient preparation to hold the Borguna-2 by-election, due on October 3, in free, fair and credible manner.
‘We have decided to deploy sufficient law enforcers including Border Guard Bangladesh and Coast Guard personnel to maintain law and order in the by-poll,’ he said.
A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options in an election.
Electoral system enforces rules to ensure valid voting, and how votes are counted and aggregated to yield a final result.
-With New Age input
