National ID card and birth registration
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
THE reported move of the Election Commission (EC) to make national identity (ID) cards mandatory for all citizens to get 22 different services like obtaining passport, driving licence and selling or buying lands is well-purported. The EC, according to reports appearing in a section of the media, has already drafted an ordinance to this effect and decided to introduce initially the mandatory provision only for the voters who will register themselves in the electoral roll.
We consider that the issuance of only voter ID cards to the eligible people would be a wastage of money. It is so because the voter ID card is now being prepared in a way that it can easily be used as national ID card. The use of photographs in the voter ID cards can easily make it a substitute for national ID cards. Only one problem may arise in this case because of the provision to issue the cards to the people who attain 18 years of age. But the government can easily resolve this problem by declaring the birth registration cards as the identities of those below 18 years. Providing the national ID card for this under-18 age group is necessary in our society because of several reasons like seeking admission to educational institutions, getting different state-level facilities etc.
As it was reported that the EC would need at least three to four years to provide the national ID cards to all citizens, it is our request to the government that it should ensure that such cards are prepared in such a way that these can help remove the need for showing unnecessary papers to prove other qualifications of all adult citizens and others in the process of getting such services. For example, the national ID cards can be used simultaneously for proving one's educational background, the status of being a fair bank client with no loan default and also being no defaulter in payment of utility services. If all such things can be done, there will be economic use of time.
Shahin Ahmed
Karwan Bazar
Dhaka
We consider that the issuance of only voter ID cards to the eligible people would be a wastage of money. It is so because the voter ID card is now being prepared in a way that it can easily be used as national ID card. The use of photographs in the voter ID cards can easily make it a substitute for national ID cards. Only one problem may arise in this case because of the provision to issue the cards to the people who attain 18 years of age. But the government can easily resolve this problem by declaring the birth registration cards as the identities of those below 18 years. Providing the national ID card for this under-18 age group is necessary in our society because of several reasons like seeking admission to educational institutions, getting different state-level facilities etc.
As it was reported that the EC would need at least three to four years to provide the national ID cards to all citizens, it is our request to the government that it should ensure that such cards are prepared in such a way that these can help remove the need for showing unnecessary papers to prove other qualifications of all adult citizens and others in the process of getting such services. For example, the national ID cards can be used simultaneously for proving one's educational background, the status of being a fair bank client with no loan default and also being no defaulter in payment of utility services. If all such things can be done, there will be economic use of time.
Shahin Ahmed
Karwan Bazar
Dhaka