EC’s dialogue with political parties from 13 Nov over nat’l election
Staff Reporter :
The Election Commission (EC) is set to begin dialogue with political parties from 13 November, aiming to ensure a free, fair, and participatory national election.
Senior Secretary of the Election Commission (EC) Akhtar Ahmed told the journalists on Sunday.
“We will hold dialogue with the political parties. We will fix the date for the talks after getting the gazette of the Code of Conduct for the candidates and political parties,” he said.
“It has been decided that the dialogue with political parties will begin on 13 November. Discussions will take place in two sessions each day – one in the morning and another in the afternoon. However, the specific schedule for each party has not yet been fixed,” he said.
According to EC officials, preparations for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, expected to be held in the first half of February next year, are nearly complete.
The commission plans to finalise its pre-election groundwork within this month and announce the election schedule in the first week of December.
The dialogue will mainly focus on the preparations for the national election and how to ensure that it is held in a free, fair, and well-organised manner.
The discussions with political parties come as part of a wider consultation process. Earlier, the EC held talks with teachers, election experts, and representatives from civil society to gather opinions and recommendations.
As per preliminary plans, each dialogue session will include representatives from six political parties. Two sessions will be held daily, meaning a total of 12 parties will participate each day.
The EC sources said that the commission intends to hold its final discussions with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Senior EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters that there is also a possibility of including the Jatiya Party in the talks as it is a registered political party.
Meanwhile, EC sources indicated that the commission may exclude parties affiliated with the 14-party alliance, including Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD), Ganatantri Party, Zaker Party, Tariqat Federation, Samyabadi Dal, and National Awami Party, from this round of discussions.
In terms of election preparations, the EC Secretariat confirmed that all foundational preparations, including the procurement of election materials, legal amendments, and updating the voter list, will be completed by the end of November.
The EC aims to wrap up all preparations ahead of the announcement of the election schedule in early December.
As of the latest data, the total number of voters in the country stands at 127,612,384. Of this, 64,760,382 are male voters, 62,850,772 are female voters, and 1,230 are registered as third-gender (Hijra) voters.
The voter list has seen an increase of 1,304,880 voters between 1 September and 31 October alone.
Furthermore, Senior EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has announced that the final voter list will be published on 18 November, with an opportunity for public objections or claims to be raised until 17 November.
Currently, 53 political parties are registered with the Election Commission (EC). Ahead of the 13th parliamentary elections, 143 parties applied for registration in June, with 121 applications rejected during initial screening.
After further verification, the EC granted registration to three new parties: the National Citizen Party (NCP), Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD-Marxist), and Bangladesh Aam Jonogon Party, and allocated electoral symbols to them on 4 November.
With the election drawing closer, the EC’s dialogue initiative is seen as an effort to build confidence among stakeholders and ensure inclusivity and transparency in the forthcoming national polls.