The Election Commission (EC) however at this moment is not thinking about declaring any timetable for holding the due ninth parliamentary election, which was earlier scheduled for January 22. It has rather emphasised massive electoral reforms for a credible election.

Opposing the idea of using voter identity cards in the next parliamentary election, the high-powered delegation of AL technical committee on elections argued that it would take a long time. Besides, no country has been able to issue identity cards to all the voters, they said.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Bangladesh Army in a presentation at the EC Secretariat yesterday afternoon said it is possible to issue identity cards to each voters within 10 to 12 months at an approximate cost of around Tk 300 crore through setting up three camps at each union parishads, sources said.

In defence of their proposal for a voter list with photographs, the AL delegation chief Abul Mal Abdul Muhith said it is possible to complete the preparation of a voter list with photographs within two months by visiting door to door while it will take a long time for voter identity cards.

Even the Election Commission of India has not been able to complete issuing identity cards to all the voters for a long time, Muhith told reporters emerging from the meeting with the CEC.

Introduced in 1993-94, the task of providing voter ID cards in India is yet to be complete.

"So, we are not in favour of the introduction of voter identity cards for the next parliamentary election," Muhith said.

"The Election Commission should specify the timeframe for holding the election after consulting with the caretaker government. The Awami League wants holding the election by June," he said.

Replying to a query the AL leader, also a former finance minister, said the CEC and two election commissioners listened, but they did not give any specific response to the demands for election by June.

In their first meeting with the reconstituted EC led by CEC ATM Shamsul Huda, the AL delegation also discussed the electoral reforms initiated by the EC.

"We are in favour of electoral reforms for holding the parliamentary election free from the influence of black money," the AL leader said, adding that they will forward a set of proposals for reforms to the EC.

About the meeting with the CEC, the AL delegation said they sought an appointment with the CEC soon after his assumption of office on February 5.

The AL delegation comprising Muhith, ST Imam, Faruq Chowdhury and Mokammel Haque informed AL chief Sheikh Hasina about the outcome of the meeting with the EC.

The EC, which is preparing a draft for electoral reforms, will hold a series of dialogue with the political parties to seek their opinion. But the EC has yet to decide when it will start holding discussion with the parties.

Meanwhile, AL President Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked the interim government not to deprive the people of their democratic rights to vote by procrastinating in the name of reforms.

The AL chief also urged the government to hold the election so that the people are able to elect a government of their choice.

"People want to exercise their democratic and constitutional rights of franchise to have an elected government that will fulfil their aspiration. So, let the aspiration of the people be fulfilled as they had waged movements against the BNP-Jamaat coalition government for a free and fair election," said Hasina.

The AL president made the remarks at a view exchange meeting with the members of Awami Chalochchitra (film) League at her Dhanmondi office in the capital.

Saying that the present interim government is the result of the people's movements spearheaded by AL to thwart the 'election engineering' plot of BNP-Jamaat, the immediate past leader of the opposition said the government must realise that the people cannot be deprived of their rights to elect a government for long.

The former prime minister said it should also be taken into consideration that the people's right to vote is not denied in the process of doing 'everything'. "If the voting rights are denied, democratic values disappear," she said.

"The Bangalees can be patient, but they cannot be patient for too long," she said, hoping the interim government will fulfil the people's aspiration by holding the election as early as possible.

Hasina, however, welcomed the reforms carried out by the government and demanded it initiate a thorough investigation into all unlawful activities that took place during the previous government's regime including killings, tortures, harassments, repression on women and minority, lootings, encroachment, plundering, money smuggling, filing of false cases, politicisation, corruption, bomb and grenade attacks.

The AL president also urged the government not to harass the AL and its front organisations without specific grounds. She also called upon the interim government not to evict poor people. Rather, she suggested that the government evict those BNP-Jamaat ministers who were allotted government residences and later purchased those houses for a very low price through auctions.

Hasina also demanded the government to free the Film Development Corporation (FDC) from politicisation and from makers of vulgar films. She advised the filmmakers to make tasteful cinemas free from vulgarism and with a message to develop the society.

Hasina said the previous BNP-Jamaat government destroyed the social values, ethics, culture and heritage of the country by resorting to wide scale corruption and misrule.

Senior AL leaders including Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Matia Chowdhury, Obaidul Quader, were present at the meeting.