National polls: EC plans to organise a tech-based elections

Noman Mosharef :
Though the 12th parliamentary polls will be held by using ballot papers, the Election Commission (EC) is on a plan to organize the election by using modern technology.

The aim of modern technologies use is to diminish the use of muscle power and making easier the task of submitting the nomination paper.

The EC is facilitating the candidates to submit their nomination paper through online as well as security deposits also.

Ahead of this the EC is working to develop the Bangladesh Election App, set to be launched in November.

The app will contain all kind of election related information along with the returning officers, assistant returning officers, Deputy
Commissioner (DC), Superintendent of Police (SP), Office in Charge’s (OC) name, address and phone number.

Election Commissioner Md Ahsan Habib Khan explained that even though the upcoming parliamentary elections will use paper ballots, the app is being developed to make things easier for candidates and voters and reduce troubles.

After voting, the app will show results based on polling centres, including the seats won by each party and the nearest candidate’s names with their votes.

Habib said they are preparing to allow candidates to submit their nomination papers online.

Moreover, EC also started to purchase other materials which will be used to conduct the polls.

Tenders have been issued to procure 11 types of items needed for the election. Some of these items have been supplied, according to election officials.

The commission has prepared a list of jobs to do before and after announcement of the schedule.

These include getting 80,000 new transparent ballot boxes for nearly 120 million voters, securing materials like indelible ink for voting, making the voter list for each constituency, training the people who will manage the voting process, creating the election guidebook and nomination papers, and finalising the list of polling centres.

This time, the constitutional body has discarded the plan to utilise electronic voting machines or EVMs, and CCTV cameras for voting.

However, the in-progress election management app will offer voters and EC officials all the information about electoral areas, voter numbers, voting centres and candidates.