Mahbub Talukdar serves U Note again

Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar on Monday put forward an unofficial letter (U Note) to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda, other commissioners and two returning officers, drawing their attention to electoral code of conduct.

In the letter, he urged the EC to come up with bold steps against electoral code of conduct violations, ahead of the February 1 Dhaka city corporation elections.

“The lack of faith in the commission cannot be fixed if it does not take immediate measures against violations of the electoral code of conduct,” he said.

Claiming that there are a number of allegations over affidavits of the candidates, Talukdar said the EC’s inaction in verifying the affidavits is affecting the image of the commission.

He alleged in the letter that the executive magistrates are not addressing instances where the electoral code of conduct has been violated.

Talukdar said he put forward an unofficial note calling upon the commission to publish a circular with the view to stop electioneering activities of lawmakers.

“In this circumstance, I think it is necessary to publish a circular with specific guidelines,” he said in the letter.

Dhaka/Hasibul/AKA