Election preparations in progress : EC Secy

Staff Reporter :

Refuting criticism that the Election Commission is “spineless”, Senior Secretary Md Akhtar Ahmed on Monday said the EC “is standing tall because it has a backbone”.

Speaking at a press conference in front of his office at the Election Bhaban in Agargaon, the EC secretary responded to recent criticism from the National Citizen Party (NCP), which claimed the commission lacked the courage to uphold democratic values.

In response, Akhtar Ahmed said, “If the Election Commission doesn’t have a backbone, then how am I standing tall? I’m part of the commission. Doesn’t my presence here prove it?”
He reiterated that all activities are focused on ensuring a smooth national election.

“The commission is doing its best to carry out its responsibilities. Political parties may say what they want, but we are proceeding at our own pace. The election schedule will be announced once all preparations are complete,” he said.

The remarks follow comments made by NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, who, after meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddinon on Sunday, said, “People haven’t been able to vote freely for 15 years. And now, when someone tries to vote through a democratic process, they are obstructed. The more I see this Election Commission, the more I realise it is spineless.”

Addressing a range of electoral issues, Akhtar Ahmed said the commission is seriously considering incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in the electoral code of conduct.

“AI could become a significant factor, so we are looking into it carefully,” he noted.
The code of conduct is expected to be finalised at a commission meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Regarding political party compliance, the secretary said 51 parties are currently registered.

Of them, 30 have submitted their audit reports, 15 have sought an extension, and 5 are yet to respond. One newly registered party has also requested more time.

Additionally, 145 applications for new party registrations have been received. Of those, 80 have provided the required information, 6 have requested extensions, while the rest have yet to respond. “We are evaluating these and will conduct field-level investigations before making decisions,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said training sessions for election officials and other stakeholders are ongoing.
EC Secretary Akhtar said European Union (EU) pre-election observation team is set to visit Bangladesh in mid-September to assess the electoral environment ahead of the 13th parliamentary election.

“A pre-election observer team of the European Union will visit in mid-September. It will include three international and four local observers,” he said, citing a formal communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received earlier in the day.

He said the EU team would observe the pre-election environment and assess the EC’s readiness for the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Moreover, EC will publish the final voter list for the upcoming national elections on 31 August.
Prior to that, a draft version will be released on 10 August, said a press release signed by EC Secretariat Director (Public Relations) Md SharifulAlam.

According to the release, the supplementary voter list – comprising newly registered voters born on or before 1 January 2007 and added to the database by 30 June 2025 – will also be made public on 10 August.

This list will include updates such as the removal of deceased voters.
Following the release of the supplementary list, applications for the inclusion of eligible voters, deletion of names of deceased or ineligible individuals, transfer of voter records, and correction of any errors must be submitted by 21 August.

The final voter list, incorporating all verified changes, will then be published on 31 August, said the Election Commission.

Now there are some 123.7 million (123732274) voters throughout the country, according to the latest finalised voter list published on March 2 last.