In response to a political party’s remark that the Election Commission lacks a spine, Senior Secretary of the Election Commission (EC) Md Akhtar Hossain posed a counter-question: “If I have no spine, how am I standing straight?”
He made the comment on Monday (August 4) while speaking to reporters at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The remark followed criticism from the National Citizens` Party (NCP), which on Sunday accused the Election Commission of being "spineless."
After a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin the previous day, NCP chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari told reporters, “People haven’t been able to vote for the past 15 years. Now when someone attempts to engage in the democratic process, that effort is obstructed. The more we observe this Election Commission, the clearer it becomes that it is spineless.”
When journalists raised the matter with the EC secretary, he responded, “If we didn’t have a spine, how would we be standing upright? Political statements are not my area. My domain is administrative. If you consider the first part of my answer, then you can see we`re still standing. Pray that we can continue to stand this way.”
He further added, “If I’m a part of the Election Commission, doesn’t the fact that I’m standing in front of you prove that I have a spine?”
Asked about concerns over public trust in the Commission, he replied, “Trust is a personal feeling. But as the national election approaches, we are doing our best to provide all relevant information through you, the media. We answer your questions and even follow-ups to the best of our ability.”
