NID services: EC vows to take tough action against corruption

The Election Commission, or EC, is prepared to take tough action against any irregularity, harassment and financial corruption involved in national identification services.

The National Identity Registration Wing has issued a stern missive to regional, district and Upazila election officials, warning that they are ready to take harsh legal action against any proven case of corruption.

NID Registration Wing Director General Brig Gen Mohammed Saidul Islam sent the instructions to field workers on Nov 13 after receiving complaints and recommendations regarding irregularities and corruption from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Bangladesh currently has over 101.8 million people registered on its voter list. Over 1.3 million of the dead will be removed from the list in January, while 3.5 million new voters will be added.

The EC NID Wing issued its ‘NID Issue, Corrections and Best Update Practices’ in an effort to convert those eligible to vote to regular voters.

The instructions highlighted various media reports that NID applicants had been harassed during the process. The involvement of certain unscrupulous officials, public representatives and middlemen had been revealed in the reports.

“It is simply unacceptable to use trickery not to provide proper services to those applicants who have proper documentation. We have received allegations of financial corruption, bribery, irregularities and fraud,” it said.

On Sept 11, the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted these allegations and issued recommendations for reforms, the letter said. Harsh legal measures would be taken against any official found involved in such corruption.

The EC secretariat is working tirelessly day and night to handle the huge workload involved despite being short-staffed, said Brig Gen Islam. The NID is one of the EC’s major achievements and is being recognised worldwide, he said.

“The NID wing will ensure the accuracy and integrity of the process at any price. We will not allow this to be tarnished by some corrupt Election Commission officials, workers, public representatives and middlemen.”

The EC has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on corruption, harassment and all unscrupulous activity, he said. He instructed the adoption of 18 measures to limit corruption and harassment of applicants.

These included preventing middlemen being present at the NID service centres without applicants, the banning of mobile banking and shops from the premises, measures against financial transactions with officials and employees, a mobile court to jail brokers, accurate computer entry of data, a separate registry for new voters, lost data and corrections and the provision of services in a timely manner.