Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
Election Commission (EC) faced a barrage of questions, warnings and proposals from several political parties on Wednesday as they pressed for a free, fair and credible parliamentary poll and the Referendum.
The issues came up during talks with different political parties arranged by the Election Commission at the EC’s headquarters on Wednesday in a bid to getting the opinions and recommendations from the major election stakeholders.
During the meeting, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) proposed that the EC appoint its own officials as returning officers and assistant returning officers.
BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan told the dialogue that the election requires several hundred thousand polling officials.
The EC does not have that level of manpower, he said, but whatever manpower it does have must be used to the fullest.
“For 300 constituencies, returning officers and assistant returning officers are effectively borrowed from the government. But the EC still has enough officials to handle this,” he said.
“Take a bold decision for once and appoint returning officers from within your own Election Commission. Appoint assistant returning officers from among your dedicated staff. A single decision like this will bring a qualitative shift in Bangladesh’s politics,” he added.
Moyeen Khan argued that the Prime Minister’s Office effectively controls four key positions – DC, SP, UNO, and OC.
“These four buttons are pressed from the Prime Minister’s Office, and then the results for 300 seats come out,” he said. Bangladesh must move away from this system.
He called on the EC to take a firm stand, saying the BNP would provide full support. “But the EC must stay strong. If the EC remains subservient to the government, it is impossible to hold a neutral election,” he said.
Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Mia Golam Porwar argued that the commission should consider deploying at least five army personnel at each centre to deter violence and restore public confidence.
“If you deploy only one soldier, it won’t have any significant impact. Each centre needs at least five members of the armed forces,” he told the commission.
He also pushed for a lottery-based reshuffle of the administration, saying recent transfers in the civil and police administration looked “designed” and raised doubts about neutrality.
“It seems there is some sort of design behind the way DCs and SPs are being moved. Within days, so many transfers – this doesn’t look neutral,” he said.
Porwar added that once the election schedule is announced, administrative control shifts to the EC, and the quickest way to build trust is to use a lottery system for transfers.
He further challenged the timing of holding the general election and the referendum on the same day.
“For logical reasons, we had said the referendum should come first. If you hold two votes on the same day, people will be confused. They need to understand what exactly the referendum is,” he added.
Jamaat’s delegation also urged the EC to ensure voter ID photos are clearer and to specify exactly where parties must submit their pledges.
Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad called on the commission “to be courageous,” recommending widespread use of CCTV at polling centres and immediate action to recover illegal weapons.
Barrister Shishir Monir, part of the Jamaat delegation, focused on the gaps in the code of conduct.
“It’s not clear who will impose penalties when the code is violated,” he said.
He pressed the EC to clarify how both a candidate and a party would be punished for the same offence, and to define timelines for resolving complaints.
The newly registered National Citizens’ Party (NCP) delivered its own set of challenges.
Mentioning the 7(f) sub-clause of the Code of Conduct as the EC’s “first big test,” Joint Member-Secretary Zahirul Islam said, “If any BNP candidate uses Tarique Rahman’s photo, the commission will have to apply this clause. That will show the EC’s capability.”
The clause allows only the current party chief’s photo on campaign materials. Khaleda Zia is the party Chairperson of the BNP.
NCP leader Zahirul questioned the requirement that banners be printed on cloth or jute. “How many places in the country can print on jute? In remote areas, the capacity is almost zero.”
The NCP welcomed two provisions: mandatory declaration of the election manifesto before all candidates after symbol allocation, and participation in televised election dialogues.
NCP’s Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary raised the issue of the referendum framework, asking when its guidelines would be published.
“If the commission stays committed to the constitution and not to any particular political party, the NCP will fully cooperate,” he said.
He also welcomed the EC’s decision allowing alliance candidates to run with their own party symbols.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki criticised the EC for revising electoral laws “at will” without consulting stakeholders.
He argued that legal reforms alone won’t deliver a good election. “Environment matters more than the laws,” he said.
He proposed forming an Election Environment Monitoring Committee with central representatives of all political parties to quickly resolve conflicts.
