The new Election Commission (EC) has taken over on February 15. We wish the new team good luck.

The new CEC had expressed his resolve to work impartially, but we feel that the articulated good intentions of the Commission must be demonstrated by substantive actions.

The first test will obviously be the elections to various posts in 18 upazilas that will commence from March 6. Hence, there is little time to be lost.

The new CEC has his work cut out for him, particularly in light of the fact that his predecessor’s tenure was mired in controversy over charges of gross inefficiency which has brought into question the EC’s credibility.

It is necessary to remind the new Commission that there is a difference in perception of the electorate and the EC about free and fair polls. The previous EC had claimed that elections for all polls held under it were free and fair. Are we to understand that the definition of free and fair polls have undergone a change? Because the outgoing CEC and his team believe that all polls held during his tenure were free and fair, a sentiment not shared by most of the public.

We hope the Commission will get down to the brass-tacks of running one of the most important institutions in the country and work towards restoring its image. The office of the EC is a statutory body which should not allow any sort of extraneous influence to come in the way of fulfilling its task of holding free, fair and transparent elections.