In the run-up to the 13th National Parliament election, the Election Commission (EC) has issued the Political Parties and Candidates’ Code of Conduct, 2025, introducing, for the first time, a complete ban on posters in election campaigns.
Yet long before the directive took effect, posters and billboards had already blanketed streets and highways across the country, including the area directly in front of the Election Commission building.
Across Dhaka, campaign materials from various parties dominate trees, walls, road dividers and electric poles.
Many of these displays exceed the newly set rules on size and quantity.
Candidates are now limited to using no more than 20 billboards per constituency, each no larger than 16 feet by 9 feet.
Although the posters appeared before the code was formally published, questions have emerged about what will happen to the campaign materials already installed.
EC officials say parties will be required to remove them before the election schedule is announced.
“We have informed political parties that these materials are not permitted under the code of conduct,” Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker told Dhaka Tribune.
“When we sit for dialogue with parties from the 13th, this issue will also be on the agenda.”
The code, issued on November 10, bans public meetings, street rallies, or any form of overseas campaigning ahead of the polls.
Posters are prohibited entirely, while banners, leaflets, handbills and festoons, if used outside electronic and digital media, must be printed only in black and white.
New size restrictions have been imposed: banners must not exceed 10 feet by 4 feet, handbills must be A4 size, and festoons cannot be larger than 18 inches by 24 inches.
The rules also bar the use of any image other than the candidate’s own photo and symbol.
Candidates nominated by registered political parties may use a portrait of their party chief, but not if the image depicts public meetings or religious activities.
Materials may not be pasted on walls, buildings, trees, poles, or vehicles.
Non-perishable campaign items, such as polythene, plastic and rexine, are banned entirely.
Digital billboards may use lights, but any other form of illumination is prohibited.
The code also outlines conduct for voter slips: opposing candidates or their representatives may distribute them, but slips cannot carry a candidate’s name, photo, position or symbol.
Strict penalties are included for violations.
Candidates can face up to six months’ imprisonment or fines of up to Tk150,000, or both.
Political parties may also be fined up to Tk150,000, and the EC retains the authority to cancel a candidacy if breaches are proven.
Commissioner Sarkar urged parties to remove their existing posters voluntarily.
“These posters and banners violate the code of conduct,” he said.
“I appeal to all parties to remove them on their own responsibility before the schedule is announced. If they remain after the schedule, penalties will be enforced.”
