Staff Correspondent

BNP on Monday called for adopting the latest technology in the task to update the voter list, instead of the traditional door-to-door campaigning ahead of the 12th National Parliament election.

"We want a true and accurate voter list to be prepared. Instead of a door-to-door campaign, we propose using computing, and AI to do the job,” BNP standing committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan told a press conference.

BNP’s committee on Election Commission arranged the press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office.

Dr Moyeen said if a computerised upgraded system can be adopted, it would help update the voter list accurately without wasting time.

He said a computerized system can easily identify when someone turns 18 and automatically remove the names of those who have passed away. “There's no need for a door-to-door campaign to update the voter list by checking all 18 crore people of Bangladesh.”

The BNP leader also said the door-to-door method is extremely time-consuming, unnecessary, and prone to errors. “In our reform proposal for the voter list, we have clearly stated that it has to be upgraded using technology."

He also presented a 10-point reform proposal, including amending the RPO, some rules in election management, revising the code of conduct for political parties and candidates, changes to the policy for the registration of political parties, upgrading the election observation policy, increasing the capacity of the Election Commission, and a separate electoral code of conduct for the media.

The BNP leader said they have already submitted these reform proposals to the government-formed Election Reform Commission.

He said they prepared reform proposals aiming to create a level playing field so that people can truly cast their votes and elect their real representatives, not dummy or fake representatives.

“The previous government has done many things to manipulate the elections through the administration. So, we have sought amendments to the rules enacted by the fascist government so that government officials and employees can play a neutral role,” the BNP leader said.

Another BNP standing committee member, Nazrul Islam Khan, said the government can arrange the national election quickly by implementing the proposals their party has made.

“We have talked about strengthening the Election Commission, setting up an election secretariat, and giving them sufficient powers. We also proposed amending and reforming the existing laws... These do not require much time,” he said.

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed suggested it should not take more than three or four months to arrange the election by carrying out the necessary reforms related to the election process.

He said they proposed restoring the caretaker government system to remove all the barriers to holding a free and fair election.