The Election Commission (EC) is undertaking all necessary preparations ahead of the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election and schedule will be disclosed immediately upon decision, EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Monday.
The announcement of the election schedule will be made solely at the Commission’s discretion and will be disclosed immediately upon decision, he said while speaking to journalists at the Election Building in the capital’s Agargaon.
“All our activities are centred around the national election. Preparations are progressing according to the timeline provided by the chief adviser,” he added.
Senior secretary said that as part of the voter list update process, a draft list of approximately over Tk44.5 lakh excluded voters will be published on Sunday and names of the deceased voters will be excluded.
After resolving claims and objections, the final list will be published by August 31, he said, mentioning that under the revised law, a supplementary list will also be published one month before the election.
Regarding political party registration, he said that 145 parties have applied for registration.
Of these, 80 parties have submitted documents to address deficiencies, while 6 parties have sought more time and 59 parties have not responded.
These matters will be forwarded to the Commission.
On audit reports from political parties, he said that out of 51 registered parties, 30 have submitted audit reports, 15 have sought time and 5 have not submitted any report.
Action will be taken based on the Commission’s decision, he added.
Concerning constituency demarcation, Senior Secretary said that a draft boundary for 300 constituencies has been published and claims and objections will be accepted until Sunday.
After hearings, the final boundaries will be determined within August, he said.
Regarding observer organizations and foreign observers, he mentioned that applications will be accepted until Sunday.
A seven-member pre-election observer team from the European Union (EU), comprising three foreigners and four locals, will arrive in Bangladesh in mid-September.
On legal and regulatory reforms, he said that amendments have been made to the demarcation law, voter list regulations, polling centre establishment policy, local and foreign observer guidelines and media policy.
Efforts are also underway to include provisions in the code of conduct to prevent misuse of AI, he added.
He continued that the election manual will be finalized soon, while polling officials will be trained in phases and all election materials will be procured by September 30.
A project worth approximately Tk48 crore is in the approval process to ensure voting rights of the expatriate voters through postal ballots, he added.
