Election Commission relieves Class IV staff of Dhaka North election duty

The Election Commission has relieved the 11 fourth-class employees of a college who were appointed as polling officers for the upcoming city corporation balloting.

Dhaka North City Corporation Returning Officer Md Shah Alam on Friday also issued a show-cause notice on the principal of Mirpur’s Hazrat Shah Ali Women’s College.
 
The returning officer claimed it was ‘the principal’s mistake’ that ‘created the confusion’.
 
Formerly termed MLSS or Member of Lower Subordinate Staff, the fourth-class employees are support staff like sweepers, night guards, ayah, peon and gardeners.
 
The EC usually deploys school and college teachers and government officers in election duty.
 
But Principal Moyez Uddin earlier said that 11 of the college’s ‘MLSS’ employees were enlisted for April 28 election duty in the capital.
 
Those assistants had immediately tried to get excused from the duty, saying they are 'barely literate'. 
 
They also told the commission in writing that they were incapable of discharging the responsibility.
 
But the EC had reportedly refused to accept their applications at that time.
 
The returning officer’s office had deputed these 11 persons to work as polling officers at Paikparha Government Primary School at Mirpur.

Moyez Uddin had also admitted that it would be difficult for these barely literate employees to carry out the election duties.

There was no legal bar over appointments, but their low qualification had put the EC officials in an embarrassing position.

Returning Officer Md Shah Alam on Friday afternoon told reporters about relieving them of the duty.

“The list sent by the institution did not mention the designations of its employees. It was his (the principal) mistake. We have excluded the fourth-class employees and are issuing a show-cause notice to him (principal).”

Explaining the situation, Alam said, “The institution sent the list of possible polling officers. We just copied that from the CD. I cancelled (their appointments) immediately when I found out.”

“Teachers have been deputed in their places already,” he added.

However, the college’s principal said the EC had only asked for a list, not the designations of the employees.

“The office assistants’ names were sent along with the teachers mistakenly. It was not intentional.”

The elections to the Dhaka South, Dhaka North and Chittagong City Corporations are scheduled for Apr 28.

At least 50,000 election officials including presiding, assistant presiding and polling officers will work during the voting.

The returning officer said the training for over 18,000 elections officials for Dhaka North city polls will begin from Saturday.