Although the ballot papers will be different for the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the referendum, both must be submitted in the same ballot box. In the election scheduled for 12 February, the referendum ballot paper will be pink in colour, while the parliamentary election ballot paper will be white, as before. Voting in both the parliamentary election and the yes–no (referendum) vote will be done using a stamp.
However, in the case of postal ballots, voters will have to mark their choice with a tick or a cross. Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin announced the schedule for the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the referendum on Thursday. On the same day, the Election Commission issued a circular regarding the referendum question, voting hours, appointment of returning officers, assistant returning officers and polling officials, determination of voting procedures, publication and consolidation of results, and gazette notification.
The circular, signed by Mohammad Monir Hossain, Deputy Secretary (Election Management-2 Wing) of the Election Commission Secretariat, has been sent to the Cabinet Division as well as all relevant ministries and divisions of the government.
According to the circular, the transparent ballot boxes supplied by the Election Commission for the 13th parliamentary election will also be used as ballot boxes for the referendum. After casting their votes, voters will place both the parliamentary ballot and the referendum ballot into the same box.
How to vote: Along with the parliamentary election ballot paper, one referendum ballot paper will be provided. Voters must stamp either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on the referendum ballot paper, fold it, and place it in the designated ballot box. In the case of postal ballots, voters must mark a tick or cross in the blank space beside ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
Subject of the referendum: To obtain public opinion, the referendum ballot paper includes four key proposals for constitutional reform in accordance with the ‘July National Charter’. For each question, voters are asked to cast either a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote in a single box.
The ballot paper will read:
Do you agree to the implementation order of the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform), 2025, and the following proposals on constitutional reform as recorded in the July National Charter? (Yes/No)
(a) A caretaker government during elections, the Election Commission, and other constitutional institutions will be formed in line with the procedures described in the July Charter.
(b) The next National Parliament will be bicameral, with an upper house of 100 members formed in proportion to the votes received by parties in the national parliamentary election; any constitutional amendment will require the consent of a majority of members of the upper house.
(c) The political parties winning the next parliamentary election will be obliged to implement the issues on which consensus has been reached in the July National Charter, including increasing women’s representation in parliament, electing the Deputy Speaker and parliamentary committee chairs from the opposition, fundamental rights, judicial independence, local government, the Prime Minister’s term, the powers of the President, and 30 other matters listed in the schedule.
(d) Other reforms described in the July National Charter will be implemented in accordance with the commitments of the political parties.
Voting together, counting separately: Although a referendum ordinance has been issued, no separate rules have been formulated. Instead, all stages from voting to the publication of results are detailed in the referendum circular.
The returning officers, assistant returning officers and polling officials appointed by the Election Commission for the parliamentary election will also be responsible for the referendum. Similarly, the presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers will perform their duties as polling officials for both processes.
According to the circular, polling officials will conduct the national parliamentary election and the referendum simultaneously.
This time, there are nearly 130 million voters, meaning that twice as many ballot papers will be required. Ballot papers equal to the number of voters will be printed for both the parliamentary election and the referendum.
The circular states that after voting ends, the presiding officer will open each ballot box at the polling centre or postal vote counting centre in the presence of agents appointed by candidates for the 13th parliamentary election (if present). The parliamentary ballots and referendum ballots will then be separated. The parliamentary ballots will be counted candidate-wise, while the referendum ballots will be counted separately as ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ votes.
The 13th National Parliamentary Election and the referendum will be held on 12 February. As both votes will take place together, voting hours have been extended by one hour to a total of nine hours. Polling will begin at 7:30 am and continue until 4:30 pm.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
