level playing field
Talukder rebuts CEC comment
Staff Reporter, Dhaka
Chief election commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda and election commissioner Mahbub Talukder are at loggerheads over a level playing field in the December 30 parliamentary polls. Talukder yesterday protested against the CECs comments that he had told a lie on the issue.
Claiming that Hudas comment had hurt his integrity, Talukder said: The CEC said at Rangamati on December 18 that I had told a lie about there being no level playing field in the next election. I strongly protest against his comment. He has hurt the integrity of an election commissioner. One thing should be remembered that all election commissioners, including the CEC, are equal. Talukder told this to journalists yesterday at his office at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka.
The CEC has made various disparaging remarks against me openly. I never protested against his words. But I could not but protest his comment that I had told a lie by saying that a level playing field is absent, he added.
On December 17, in reply to questions by journalists, I had said that you (journalists) will get the answer whether there is a level playing field or not if you ask your own conscience. I am still of the same opinion, he asserted.
On December 17, Talukder told journalists: I dont think that there is any level playing field at all in the election. The term level playing field has now turned into a meaningless phrase.
Just a day later, the CEC countered that his colleague did not speak the truth about the poll environment. He said this at a view-exchange meeting at Rangamati.
Talukder has openly expressed his difference of opinions on various issues with the Election Commission several times. He had once boycotted a full commission meeting in protest against the introduction of electronic voting machines in the general election hastily without consultation with political parties, the ECs main stakeholders.
