Staff Correspondent,The Daily Star, 8th July, 2008
The field level task of voter listing with photographs ends today. As of yesterday, voter registration was going on in only one area. Till July 8, the number of people registered as voters with photographs and fingerprints stood at 8.05 crore. The officials engaged in enumeration said the total number would not exceed 8.06 crore since only a few thousand more are expected to be added to the list today. The new roll will have around 1.27 crore fewer voters than the previous one that drew a lot of flak for lacking fairness and accuracy.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has prepared a database of 8.05 crore voters. Officials involved in the voter listing project describe the electoral data bank as the largest in developing countries. Those on the new roll are being given national identity cards. Sources said the commission is preparing to arrange a function on July 22 to celebrate completion of the voter listing. Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is expected to attend the function, along with top bureaucrats and officials of foreign missions in Dhaka.

The remaining tasks--printing and publication of draft lists and printing of the final roll--are likely to be completed by early October, according to the time limit stipulated in the electoral roadmap. As of yesterday, 174 areas including city corporations and upazilas had final voter lists while 361 out of 522 areas had draft lists.

The EC began the mammoth task of preparing a national voter list with photographs and identity cards in August last year. Supported by UNDP, the project was estimated to cost Tk 424 crore. Of the amount, Tk 274 crore came from donor agencies and countries.