Electoral System Reform Commission chief Badiul Alam Majumdar on Wednesday said that the commission鈥檚 report will make clear recommendations on correcting the problems with names and designations in the voter list.
He said this while exchanging views with the people from different classes and professions of the society, ethnic minorities, dalits and challenged people in the cabinet room of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
Stating that there is a serious problem in the voter list of minorities and dalits, Badiul said, 鈥楾he designation is not recorded correctly. This problem is widespread. My family members also have wrong names. We will make clear recommendations that these be corrected.鈥�
However, the recommendations of the reform commission have not been finalised yet, he said.
He said that bicameral parliament system, balancing the powers of the president and the prime minister, and how the upper house would be elected were discussed in Wednesday鈥檚 meeting.
Apart from this, the proposal to reserve seats for women in the parliament on a rotating basis has come up strongly in different meetings, he said.
鈥極ne thing has come clearly that there should be no discrimination in the society. We should have a data-based idea about the number of tribal people 鈥� how many in the plains, how many in the hilly areas, how many dalits and different ethnic groups. No more a party-based local government 鈥� this proposal has also come, almost everyone agrees on this,鈥� he said.
Tofail Ahmed, a member of the commission, said that they were thinking of having wards at the upazilas as well.
鈥業f there are 10 unions in an upazila, there will be 30 seats. 30 people will elect a chairman and vice chairman,鈥� he said.
Participants said that backward communities want representation in reserved seats of Jatiya Sangsad.
At the same time, they want the representation at all levels of all local governments bodies.
Ripon Chandra Bani, a member of the executive committee of the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, said that tribal representation must be ensured in the election system.
鈥楾here are 50 reserved seats in the parliament. Provision should be included to create scope of including people form backward groups,鈥� he said.
Sandhya Malo, a representative of ethnic a minority group, Jatiya Adbasi Parishad general secretary Bimal Chandra Rajwar and Backward Society Development Association executive director Rajkumar Shao also spoke at the programme.