A total of twelve million two hundred thousand names registered in the updated voter list are either excess or duplicates, a survey report of National Democratic Institute (NDI) for International Affairs revealed on Saturday.
Of this, 6 percent names are excess and 7 percent duplicate, while at least 2.5 percent eligible voters are missing in the list, according to the second NDI survey on the integrity of the voter list. The report has been prepared on the basis of checking 22,000 names, interviews of 11,000 individuals in 37 villages of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong-Sylhet, and Barisal-Khulna regions. NDI Residential Director Owen Lippert presented the report at a press conference at a city hotel.
With improvements, the voter list can be part of a credible election, but an accumulation of risk factors including excess ballots and clerical error could lead to a situation where a potentially acceptable election result may not be perceived as credible, the Washington-based institute said.
