The Election Commission is preparing to take legal action against those who enlisted themselves twice in the electoral rolls, election commissioner Md Shah Nawaz said on Thursday.
He said the commission had found out that many people became dual voters like in the past.
Using Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the commission in 2010 identified as many as 1.96 lakh dual voters who got enlisted during the preparation of voters’ list before the 2008 general election and during the voters’ list update work in 2009, the commissioner said.
The commission had asked those who got enlisted twice in the list to communicate with local election office to drop their names, assuring they would be forgiven if they willingly drop one of their names.
But most of those whose names were enlisted twice did not turn up at the election offices to drop their names.
Shah Nawaz said, ‘The commission is now making preparation to file cases against those who did not communicate with the commission to drop their second names from the list.’
The election commissioner also said that many got enlisted twice during the ongoing update work of the voters’ roll.
‘That is why,’ Shah Nawaz said, ‘we have launched a drive to find out double voters through cross-matching of fingerprint using AFIS technology.’
He said one found guilty of enlisting his/her name twice in the voters’ list can be liable for a sentence of six months to two years in jail.
The election commissioner said the commission has started cross-matching of finger prints to find out the dual voters.
‘At least ten people were found guilty of enlisting their names twice in the voters’ list at a centre in Matlab of Chandpur district and the commission is mulling legal action against them,’ he added.
Asked whether the commission would take any action against its field-level officials for negligence which might be one of the reasons for double enlistments, Shah Nawaz said the commission did not receive any allegation against them yet.
‘Why would our officials go for enlisting them twice? What is their benefit out of it?’ the commissioner asked.
The EC on March 10 began the update work of electoral rolls across the country ahead of the parliamentary polls scheduled to be held in one-and-a-half years time. The commission has allocated a total budget of Tk 24 crore for the update work.
The commission was expecting that as much as 70 lakh new voters will be included in the voters’ list.
A total of 147 teams equipped with 1,323 laptops, digital cameras and other apparatus were working at the field levels for the purpose.
Meanwhile, the EC in a press release said none of the government or non-government agencies or organisations shall make compulsory the submission of national ID cards while receiving any service from them.
About the press release, Shah Nawaz said, ‘Showing or submitting national ID cannot be compulsory right at this moment as a large number of national ID cards has remained undistributed.’
-With New Age input
