Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said they have already received 70% of locally-procured election materials and will get the remaining items by this month.
“So, there is no reason for concern about supply lines or shortages. We can say we’re going to get all necessary items within the given time of September,” he told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.
He said two out of 10 types of election materials—stamp pads and indelible ink pens—will be provided by the UNDP, while the remaining eight are being procured locally.
“We have asked UNDP to deliver the two items by October 15. As for the rest, nearly 70% have already been received and the remaining will arrive by September,” the EC secretary said.
The eight items being locally procured are locks of transparent ballot boxes, gala (glue), official seals, marking seals, brass seals, large hessian bags, small hessian bags and gunny bags.
Talking about the EC’s planned dialogues with stakeholders later this month, Akhtar Ahmed said the matter will be placed in next week’s commission meeting to finalize the invitees, schedule and other related issues. Asked if the Jatiya Party would be invited, he said it was too early to comment as the decision rests with the Election Commission.
New party registration
The Election Commission is set to make a final decision next week on granting registration to new political parties ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for early February 2026.
“We are most likely to finalize the matter in a commission meeting on Sunday or Monday, and will then inform the media,” said Akhtar Ahmed.
He said the commission has already collected field-level information related to registration conditions of 22 political parties who sought registration.
“The activities of these 22 parties have been largely scrutinised,” he added.
Since the chief election commissioner returned to Dhaka Thursday morning from Canada, they expect the final decision will be made on Sunday or Monday.
A total of 144 political parties applied for registration earlier this year, and the EC initially shortlisted 22 parties following scrutiny.
Awaiting court decisions
Talking about the delimitation of constituencies, the EC secretary said since 14 writ petitions were filed with the higher courts challenging the delimitation, the commission is waiting for the court’s decisions.
“Many of you are curious about the matter of constituency boundaries. As far as I have learnt, 14 writs have been filed from different places. Since the matter is now under the jurisdiction of the court, I think it is sub judice to comment further,” he said.
The EC on September 4 issued a gazette notification finalising the delimitation, which brought changes to 46 constituencies across 16 districts, raised the number of constituencies by one in Gazipur, and reduced the number by one in Bagerhat, ahead of the national election in early February 2026.
People in several areas, including Bagerhat, Faridpur and Brahmanbaria, protested the new boundaries.
The EC secretary said both the petitioners and the Election Commission itself have full confidence in the judiciary. “We’ll have to wait until the court’s decisions,” he added.
When asked about the legal provision, he said although Section 7 of the law states such issues are not acceptable in court, the writ petitions were accepted by the High Court as anyone has the right to file writs under fundamental rights. “So, I don’t think it is within my authority to provide any legal interpretation now,” he said.
Article 7 of the Delimitation of Constituencies Ordinance, 1976 states the validity of the delimitation or formation of any constituency, or of any proceedings taken or anything done by or under the authority of the commission, shall not be called in question in or before any court or other authority.
Replying to a question about protests and vandalism over constituency boundary changes, the senior secretary said violence is unexpected under any circumstances. He reiterated that since the matter is pending before the court, the Election Commission will abide by whatever decision comes from the judiciary.
The current commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin re-demarcated 46 constituencies: Panchagarh-1 and 2, Rangpur-1 and 3, Sirajganj-1 and 2, Pabna-1 and 2, Bagerhat-1, 2 and 3, Satkhira-2, 3 and 4, Manikganj-2 and 3, Dhaka-2, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 14, Gazipur-1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, Narayanganj-3, 4 and 5, Faridpur-2 and 4, Shariatpur-2 and 3, Brahmanbaria-2 and 3, Cumilla-1, 2, 6 and 10, Noakhali-1, 2, 4 and 5, and Chattogram-7 and 8.
In the final delimitation, Gazipur’s constituencies rose from five to six, while Bagerhat’s fell from four to three.
Earlier, on July 30, the EC had published a draft delimitation of the 300 constituencies, proposing boundary changes in 39 constituencies across 14 districts. In the draft, six constituencies were proposed for Gazipur, reducing the number of parliamentary seats in Bagerhat to three.
Following the draft publication, the commission received some 1,893 applications containing claims, complaints, and suggestions over 84 constituencies.
The EC then arranged a four-day hearing on August 24–27 on the claims, objections, and recommendations regarding re-demarcation.
The previous EC headed by Kazi Habibul Awal re-demarcated 10 constituencies ahead of the 12th national election, while the KM Nurul Huda-led commission changed the boundaries of 25 constituencies ahead of the 2018 polls and the Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad commission redrew 87 constituencies ahead of the 10th parliamentary election.
In 2008, the ATM Shamsul Huda commission made major changes in 133 constituencies before the 9th general election.
