Parliament Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has said Election Commission (EC) must ensure a participatory election.
She said this at the inauguration of the two-day ninth meeting of The Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA), at Radisson Blu Hotel, on Wednesday. FEMBoSA comprises the chief Election Commissions of eight SAARC countries.
Dr Shirin also said: "the EC is responsible for conducting the election according to the RPO and constituency to implement a powerful democracy.
"Free, fair, participatory, and neutral elections are the foundation of democracy. [Yet] transparency in elections is undoubtedly difficult."
"Political party, candidates, voters, media, government institutions and citizens are the important stakeholders. These stakeholders are necessary to participate in the election to ensure transparency," she added.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda said: "the EC is committed to holding free, neutral, and fair elections in accordance with the constitution.
"This [FEMBoSA] meeting will encourage us to hold a participatory election."
Representatives from: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives were present at the meeting.
FEMBoSA began its journey in Bangladesh, in 2010. From then on, its annual meetings were held annually in: Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Afghanistan, respectively.
