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EC ramping up efforts to finalise preps by Dec

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Banglapress Published: 23 September 2025, 10:25 AM
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EC ramping up efforts to finalise preps by Dec
  Bangla Press Desk: The Election Commission (EC) is working intensively to complete all of their preparations regarding the next parliamentary elections by December this year, no matter when it is actually scheduled to be held. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told the Daily Sun that the major tasks related to the election are progressing rapidly. “These include updating the voter list, reviewing the recommendations of the Election Reform Commission, amending laws, rules, and regulations, and field-level preparations,” he said. “A draft voter list was published on 1 January, and the final list was released on 2 March. A decision has been made to include 4.466 million previously excluded voters in a supplementary list, which will be published any day now. Due to amendments to the Voter List Act, some new voters will also be added,” he said.
“Several laws have already been sent to the Legislative Division for amendment, and are currently under their review. The amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) is still under review at the commission’s own level, and efforts will be made to complete as much as possible at their end within the next week,” said the secretary. “Some amendments require political consensus, which may take some time to implement,” said Akhtar Ahmed. “Preparations are underway to send issues related to party registration to the field level. Political parties that had missing or incomplete information were given 15 days to fulfill the requirements. After receiving the information, it will be sent for field verification. Field-level officials have been instructed to complete the task promptly,” he said. “A new policy for election observers has been formulated, which has been published in newspapers and is being uploaded to the website. Based on this policy, applications will be reviewed and new observers will be registered,” he said.
“Initial work for determining polling centres has started based on the previous policy, to avoid last-minute pressure. Discussions are currently underway regarding 47,000 polling centers, although the number may slightly vary. However, it is expected that the number will not exceed 47,000,” said the secretary. “Out of eight essential items required for the election, contracts have been signed for seven, and equipment delivery will begin from next month (August). One item has been re-tendered as it did not meet the required quality or specifications. The commission will not accept any substandard equipment. There will be no delay due to the re-tender,” he said. Additionally, steps were advised to ensure peaceful voting at risky polling centers, bringing polling centers under CCTV surveillance, and setting up a monitoring system. These instructions were given during a meeting on 9 July with the heads of various law enforcement agencies. There is also an expectation that the prevailing law and order situation will gradually improve to foster an environment conducive to fair elections.
The chief adviser has instructed law enforcement agencies to ensure that the law and order situation does not deteriorate from now on. As only five months remain until December, improving law and order to create a favourable election environment, a level playing field, and public confidence is now a priority, sources at the election commission told the Daily Sun. Advisory council concentrates focus The Advisory Council meetings are now focusing on election-related law and order. The last such meeting of the Law and Order Advisory Council Committee was held on 13 July.
Following that meeting, relevant ministries and departments were instructed to take necessary steps to implement the specific decisions. Discussions at the meeting centered on the national election and law and order. A signed summary of the meeting by Senior Assistant Secretary Md Abdul Hai from the Ministry of Home Affairs was also provided to the EC Secretariat. The Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Home Affairs, EC Secretariat, and relevant departments of law enforcement agencies will implement these decisions. Key decisions taken at the meeting include preparing a clear and coordinated action plan with the involvement of all relevant agencies to ensure that the upcoming national election is free, fair, and impartial. The council also decided that the district commissioners, superintendents of police, upazila nirbahi officers (UNO), and officers-in-charge at the field level must work neutrally and all preparations in this regard must be completed by 31 December. Two separate rehearsal drills will be conducted by the law enforcement agencies ahead of the national elections. To ensure security during the election, CCTV cameras must be installed at all high-risk polling centers and an effective monitoring system must be implemented. Individuals involved in the 2014, 2018, and 2024 national elections should not be assigned any duties in the upcoming elections, according to the meeting minutes. Besides, the law enforcement agencies’ surveillance must be intensified to prevent any deterioration in the law and order situation ahead of the election. The meeting also decided that all agencies must remain cautious against hostile propaganda targeting law enforcement and government officials before and during the election. All the agencies must work together in a neutral manner to handle the pre-election and election-time situation. For nearly 130 million voters, an estimated 47,000 polling centers may be needed, potentially containing over 2 lakh polling booths, said sources. Laws, regulations, and guidelines in this regard are in place. The final proposal for amending the main election law – the Representation of the People Order (RPO) – is nearly complete. It is being ensured that no provision contradicts the Constitution, existing laws, or each other, said officials concerned. The EC also plans to begin discussions with political parties and stakeholders within the next few months. This article was originally published on Daily Sun. [Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]
BP/ZE
[Bangla Press is a global platform for free thought. It provides impartial news, analysis, and commentary for independent-minded individuals. Our goal is to bring about positive change, which is more important today than ever before.]

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