If signal is given schedule in October.
Like-minded parties and alliances, including the BNP want the 13th National Parliament election to be held this year. On the other hand, according to the chief advisor of the interim government, the vote will be held in December of this year or June 2026. In the meantime, the Electoral Reform Commission has submitted its recommendations to the chief advisor.
Since the Electoral Reform Commission’s proposals match the Constitutional Reform Commission’s proposals in some respects, the commission heads will scrutinize and submit a full recommendation to the government by February. Then, the government will take the opinions of the election-oriented parties on that proposal. Once that opinion is finalized, it will go to the Election Commission. Then, the Election Commission will review how much of these opinions is implementable and how much is in conflict with the Commission’s and send their proposals to the Law Ministry. These issues will be finalized in the meeting of the Advisory Council on that proposal and the electoral reform proposal will take legal form.
According to analysts, if discussions with political parties on the reform proposal begin in late February, it may take until mid-March to be finalized. This time, since Ramadan is in March, the pace of work may slow down a bit. As such, the reform proposals may be finalized by April and then the path for the commission to hold elections will be smooth. Therefore, the Election Commission wants to give a schedule in October if it gets the green signal from the government.
The Election Commission has always said that the ECO is ready to organize elections when the government wants them. There is pressure from political parties and influential countries to hold elections quickly. In the meantime, neighboring country India has said that the only way to resolve the ongoing crisis is to establish an elected government in Bangladesh. Several advisors to the interim government have also indicated that elections should be held soon.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said that if the elections are held in December, the schedule will have to be made in October. The reforms in laws and regulations will have to be completed by October.
Brigadier General (Retd) Dr. M Sakhawat Hossain, advisor to the interim government’s Ministry of Shipping and Labor and Employment, agrees with the CEC’s statement. He told our time that he (CEC) is right. If the elections are held in December, the schedule will have to be given in October. But if they want to do that, the Election Commission will have to propose which proposals of the Reform Commission they will accept. If it is sent to the Law Ministry, it will be put up for cabinet approval, and then it will be finalized.
The advisor further said, “However, from my experience, even if the minimum of the reform proposals that have come are accepted, it will not be possible by December. It may take January-February 2026 to implement them. Now, the election date depends on how much reform proposals the political parties will accept. Apart from that, there are several issues that need to be reformed. If that is not done, there will be a lot of controversy. The chief advisor said in his announcement that if you want less reform, the election will be held in December and if you want more reform, the election will be held in June. So, it may not be in June, but in March, April or any time.”
Former Additional Secretary of the Election Commission and member of the Election System Reform Commission, Jasmine Tully, agrees with the CEC’s statement. She told our time, it is definitely possible to announce the schedule by October. It is possible to announce the schedule by updating the voter list, redelineating the boundaries, and purchasing election equipment. At that time, he cited an example and said, there was an election on February 15, 1996. Then another election was held on June 12. But then everything happened in three months.
Meanwhile, several parties including BNP have been demanding a specific roadmap for the elections from the beginning to resolve the ongoing crisis. BNP has said that the election-related reform proposals should be completed quickly and elections should be held. Yesterday, Sunday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told the media that elections should be held within this year to bring democracy to the country. Not only that, but everyone should be careful not to create any crisis.
Meanwhile, when discussions are going on around whether the Awami League will be able to participate in the next elections or whether the elections will be participatory, the CEC clarified their position. He said, when the schedule is announced, we will elect as many parties as are registered at that time. Now, if the recommendations of the reform commission are implemented, the type of registration will change. So, not only the Awami League, but also those who will be registered till the schedule are waiting. We want to see how many parties are registered till the schedule is announced.
Many of the proposals made by the Electoral Reform Commission have already been published. The CEC has commented that the independence of the Election Commission may be curtailed if some of the proposals are implemented. He said that if any work of the Election Commission is handed over to the Standing Committee of Parliament, the independence of the EC will be curtailed. He said, we do not want to be dependent on the Standing Committee. The recommendations in this regard should be canceled. Criticizing the work of the Electoral Reform Commission, the CEC said, many things can be given in the recommendations. Implementation is difficult.
Do Follow: greenbanglaonline24
