the village or mouza population was above manageable size. Splitting up of these rolls into convenient size was not always possible, particularly in view of the short time at our disposal; this task also involved much cost and labor. Thus in spite of Government's desire to have single-member wards, in many places wards had to be created with two, three or even more members; in some cases the number of members in a ward was as high as 16 even.
In some reverie areas some village or parts of village were diluviated and new arcas were formed after the Census of 1951 and in some cases seats had to be allotted towards on the basis of figures in the electoral roll but neither the census figures nor the voter's list did reflect the actual position.
Some instructions, particularly about disqualification of candidates were received rather late. This also caused some administrative difficulty. As the list of persons who incurred disqualification under the EBDO was not a available in time, a number of nomination papers had to be rejected at a very late stage.
The requirement of production of ballot box by the candidates at least one hour before the polling created some difficulty to illiterate candidates in some places.
Political effect of Basic Democracies Order and the first election under it :
Initially the Communists and many of the prominent leaders of the defunct NAP and Awami League wanted to boycott the election. They carried on a whispering campaign alleging that the Basic Democracies were merely a camouflage to support the present regime and that the powers vested in it are illusory. Nominations and power of control by the Government were specifically criticized.
In the beginning there was ignorance of the concept and there was general apathy. The absence of political parties and the late finalization of union and ward boundaries reduced the number of those who usually are interested in spotlighting the political and administrative problems at the time of election. A massive publicity campaign was mounted and exceptionally keen election ensured. The interest of the people in the new institutions slightly in the beginning gained in momentum rapidly. When the detractors and the critics of the New System saw this swing in public opinion they also changed their tactics and decided to sponsor candidates or lend support to those who in their opinion could be amenable to their influence or brain washing at a later stage. The prevarication in their attitude, however, placed them in a disadvantageous position because they had little time left to organize them and to mobilize it. 216 persons with know leftist leadings have been elected. This very small number and this failure is due to the leftist parties having divided mind and lack of opportunity of open propaganda.
The extensive participation of the people in the elections and resultant heavy polling was due, among others, to the following reasons:
(a) Smaller constituencies and proximity of polling centers.
