The Election Commission (EC) is ramping up preparations for the 13th National Parliament elections, set for December. The election schedule may be announced in October. Ahead of that, the EC plans to hold dialogues with political parties in August-September after completing preliminary work in July. These discussions will outline the commission’s preparations, following a six-month election roadmap leading up to the schedule.
EC officials say that in preparation for the general elections, a public notice has been issued inviting applications for the registration of new political parties, with a deadline of April 20. The verification process for new party applications typically takes three to four months, so the commission aims to complete this by August. Other key tasks, including the procurement of election materials, finalizing election laws, and delimiting parliamentary constituencies, are also expected to be completed by July-August.
Regarding election preparations and the registration of election monitoring organizations, Election Commissioner Md. Anwarul Islam Sarker told Bangladesh Pratidin, "We will complete all tasks by August and publish the observer registration notification before then."
Speaking about election materials, he said, "The elections are targeted for December, and the fiscal year begins in July. Since voting papers, ballot papers, and other materials will be funded in the next financial year, we will include them in the upcoming budget for government allocation."
On the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, he stated, "Once the law amendments are received, we will begin work. Our preparations are well underway, and in many areas, we are ahead of schedule."
Regarding dialogues with political parties, he added, "Once work on the voter list, polling stations, parliamentary constituencies, observer policy, journalistic code of conduct, and other legislative matters is completed, we will initiate discussions with political parties. If we aim to announce the schedule in October, these dialogues should take place in August-September."
The EC Secretariat has already drafted an action plan titled Activities Before and After the Announcement of the Schedule and is proceeding accordingly. The plan sets timeframes for each task and includes preparations for various local government elections, such as city corporations, upazila parishads, and zilla parishads, alongside the national parliament elections.
According to sources, if the Election Commission receives the government's proposed electoral reform plan, adjustments will be made accordingly. The commission needs to amend various electoral laws, including the Representation of the People Order (RPO), as part of these reforms. Key priorities include updating the voter list, redefining parliamentary seat boundaries, registering new political parties, and consulting with political parties to ensure a transparent election process.
An EC source confirmed that plans are in place to procure essential materials for both parliamentary and upazila elections. While yellow, blue, and pink-colored ballot papers are used in different local government elections, additional materials such as ballot boxes, stamp pads, official seals, marking seals, packing boxes, indelible ink, forms, packets, envelopes, and candles will also be acquired once the government finalizes its reform plan.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
