EC committed to acceptable polls, not ‘working for special interests’, says Nasir Uddin

He says some people only think the Election Commission is neutral if it works in their favour

The Election Commission is committed to holding acceptable national elections, says Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.

The commission will not work for any special interests, he said.

Speaking at a dialogue with political parties organised by the EC on Sunday, he said: "Many think that we are only neutral if we work in their favour. But we cannot work for any special interests. We will act according to our conscience, and the prevailing laws and regulations of the country, In Sha Allah."

He sought the cooperation of all political leaders in achieving this objective.

The CEC said: “The main purpose of inviting you here is twofold. The first is to seek your cooperation in implementing the code of conduct that we have formulated.

“The other is that we are all talking about a fair election, and we are committed to the nation. We are committed to delivering an impartial, beautiful and acceptable election. Our main purpose here is to seek your cooperation.”

The CEC said, “This is our commitment to the nation. We have been saying this since the day we took office.”

The CEC highlighted that many major and additional tasks had to be done after the new commission took office.

According to him, the Electoral Reforms Commission and the National Consensus Commission have eased the work of the EC somewhat through their discussions with various stakeholders and political parties.

Stating that though the dialogue had started a little late due to the busy schedule of national leaders and the internal work pressures of the EC, he expressed the hope that: “With everyone’s cooperation, the consultation work can be completed smoothly.”

Nasir said the spreading of “lies and misinformation” through artificial intelligence on social media is a major issue.

“This is a challenge that previous commissions did not have to face. This is a big challenge that has come before us. Many of these challenges are generated from outside our borders. Tackling this has become a big headache for us.

"In Sha Allah, I believe that with your cooperation, we will be able to rise to this challenge as well."