EC eyes centralised digital press cards
The Election Commission has taken an initiative to develop a centralised digital accreditation and card issuance system aimed at making the process easier, more transparent and more efficient for journalists covering elections.
The commission formed a nine-member expert committee to finalise the Software Requirements Specification (SRS) for the proposed Digital Accreditation and Card Issuance Software.
The decision came at a meeting held at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon on Monday, attended by representatives of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Press Information Department (PID), Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), Bangladesh Television (BTV), Bangladesh Betar, IFES and the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED).
EC Additional Secretary Md Shamsul Alam was made convener of the committee, while Director (Public Relations) Md Abdul Momin Sarker was appointed member secretary.
After the meeting, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the initiative had been taken with all relevant stakeholders to address technical limitations experienced in the online and digital accreditation system during the 13th parliamentary election on February 12.
“We want to create a centralised digital platform extending from the central level to the upazila level. Our objective is not to exclude or control anyone. Rather, we want to make the card issuance process easier and more transparent so that professional journalists do not face any difficulties when obtaining their cards,” he said.
The committee will submit its report by September 24. Following a review of the report, the commission will give final approval before introducing the new software for the card distribution process.
BSS Managing Director and Chief Editor Muhammed Kader Gani Chowdhury said the EC, as an independent constitutional institution, has a crucial role in strengthening democracy and safeguarding people’s right to vote.
He said the credibility of a democratic and fair election depends entirely on independent journalism, and the EC must ensure an environment where journalists can present the truth freely and work without restrictions.
Chowdhury said many political activists and unprofessional individuals had previously obtained accreditation cards by falsely identifying themselves as journalists, leading to disorder including attempts to take control of polling centres.
Such incidents, he said, had resulted in genuine professional journalists being harassed and obstructed.
“We welcome this initiative to issue cards and vehicle stickers digitally so that such incidents do not take place this time,” he said.
He also called for cards to be issued only after proper verification of genuine journalists working for registered and mainstream media outlets to prevent fraudulent accreditation.
EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed chaired the meeting. Principal Information Officer (PIO) Syed Abdal Ahmed, BTV Director General Kazi Jesin, RFED President Kazi Emad Uddin Jebel, General Secretary Ikram-ud-Daula, and senior officials from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the EC attended.
