Staff reporter:
The Election Commission (EC) has announced plans to install two secret stamping stations in each polling booth, instead of the usual one, to ensure smoother voter flow during the upcoming parliamentary election and referendum, which will be held simultaneously in February 2026.
The move aims to address the extra time voters will need to cast ballots for both the national election and the referendum.
“In one booth, we initially planned for a single stamping spot. Now, two will be set up to maintain uninterrupted voter flow,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said after a high-level meeting at Nirbachan Bhaban on Sunday.
The two-hour meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, included secretaries, directors general, and chairpersons from over 30 ministries and state agencies. Discussions covered 22 key issues related to the polls.
Ahmed explained that additional polling stations would not be necessary. “Data from Saturday’s mock voting exercise showed that two stamping places per booth are sufficient to handle voter traffic efficiently,” he said.
Responding to a query on whether this approach has been used previously, he remarked, “I have not voted in the last 15 years and cannot confirm.”
Calling the upcoming election “the largest in 2026,” he noted that several aspects demand special attention: conducting both the national election and referendum together, enabling expatriate voting, printing ballots in advance for overseas voters, and ensuring real-time communication across the system.
To minimize undue influence on polling officials, the EC is considering higher allowances and additional financial benefits.
“Polling officials must not accept hospitality from local influential figures. Increasing allowances ensures they perform duties independently,” Ahmed emphasized.
On expatriate voters, he said the temporary suspension of out-of-country voter registration in seven countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE has been lifted. The Postal Vote BD app now allows editing of submitted information, with nearly 100,000 expatriates registered so far.
The EC has requested state-run BTV and Sangsad TV, as well as private channels, to promote registration and voting participation.
Inside Bangladesh, postal ballots will be available for government officials, election staff, and detainees.
However, the in-country postal voting app has yet to be launched. All relevant ministries have been asked to appoint emergency contact points, while the Home Ministry will lead election security efforts.
Additional preparations discussed include repairing polling stations, ensuring electricity, removing campaign materials, logistical support, deploying election observers, and promoting voter education and awareness campaigns down to the union level.
Plans also cover law enforcement, communal harmony, misinformation control, weather updates, health services, and transport arrangements in remote areas.
The EC will announce the official schedule in the second week of December, confirming that the general election and referendum on the July National Charter will be held on a single day in early February 2026.
