Just on the day scheduled for a meeting with the respected guests from the European Union the CEC again fell ill. Now the illness seemed grave since he was admitted to the PG Hospital for treatment. However, his going home at night incited the public to cast doubt on his physical condition.

Under the prevailing condition, the government should ask the CEC if he is really able to deliver the goods.

The activities of the CEC have badly tarnished the image of the judiciary. If this is the way of managing an election; let's forget it. Either sort it out on a free for all basis or let the incumbents in power carry on from here to eternity; or at least till sanity returns to EC.

A voter, On e-mail

The way our chief election commissioner is behaving is unacceptable. He had purposefully avoided meeting the press on the pretext of low back pain. He also put a pillow under his back to substantiate the fact of LBP during the meeting.

One needs to live and die with dignity and honour.

SN Mamoon, Dhaka

Election in our country is not a matter of joke. In a country where one candidate is more influential than the other and there is a relentless competition for capturing votes by 'any means', the role of the Election Commission gets more and more challenging. The chief election commissioner has to work under tremendous pressure. He/she has to oblige the order and threat from the government, and on the other hand, he/she has to take the blame for partisanship from opposition for the slightest unfair actions. Sometimes they are surrounded by thousands of people (recent Chittagong mayoral election) who demand transparency. Above all, he/she has to face the media. A CEC thus should be very strong both mentally and physically.

Now, let's look at our current CEC Justice M.A. Aziz. I do not want to criticise anyone's health condition. But does our CEC have the health condition necessary to run such an office? I raise this question for the following reasons:

1. After a recent verdict from the High Court which went against the CEC's decision, he (CEC) became ill and spent more than a week at home. He became so ill that he even refused any meeting at his home which was requested by other two commissioners.

2. Finally, he got well and came to office after the government appointed two more commissioners to support him. Dr. Kamal referred to that as an antibiotic for the CEC to recover. So, it seems normal allopathic medicine cannot cure him and it is a matter of great concern. On Monday (Jan 24), he attended office till 11:00am. Next, he had a scheduled meeting with the visiting European Union (EU) team. But he again became ill (to avoid the meeting).

4. Doctors in his (CEC's) medical history sheet mentioned of nine diseases that our CEC is suffering from. Some of those are: Cataract, Kidney Stone, Thyroid problem, Lumbago, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

5. Now, how can such a sick person who is suffering from nine diseases run a tense national election in our country?

Good news is that our ill CEC with 9 diseases suddenly felt better after the EU team left the country and went back home.

My question is, should we take the risk of a national election under him? His health condition is very unstable and making him sick in unpredicted ways. Our government should think about his health condition seriously and replace him by a healthier CEC. This way, Justice Aziz will get some rest and get a chance to take care of his diseases.

Dr. Reaz Rahman, USA