‘No CC cameras in by-polls due to lack of budget’

Election Commissioner (EC) Rashida Sultana has said that there will be no Close Circuit (CC) cameras in the by-elections of five constituencies of this turn due to lack of budget.

She said this to the reporters after a view exchange meeting with the presiding officers on the occasion of the by-elections of two constituencies in Bogura on Tuesday (January 17).

Rashida Sultana said, “This time’s by-elections cannot be covered by CC cameras. But we could not think about the possibility of holding these by-elections. It happened suddenly. Now we do not have enough budget.”

She also said, “In the Gaibandha by-elections, everything including the budget was decided from earlier. We will not use CC cameras or do such things, there is no legal obligation in this regard. The only reason we did it earlier was because everyone was saying that a lot of things happen in the polls. It was done to see if it actually happens. I will not say that we will not do it in the future, nor will I say that we will do it. It will depend on time.”

How do you monitor if there is no CC camera? In response to such questions from journalists, he said, “The biggest eyes are the media. When there were no CC cameras, there was beautiful elections. But we had also seen many irregularities. I think you are our big eyes. Show us with your eyes.”