The Election Commission (EC) has decided to issue journalists’ election passes manually, reverting to the previous system, for coverage of the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the upcoming referendum. The move comes in response to demands from the journalism community, reversing an earlier plan to accept applications online.
Senior Secretary of the EC, Akhtar Ahmed, announced the decision on Thursday during a briefing at the EC building in Agargaon, Dhaka.
He said journalists had met with the Chief Election Commissioner earlier in the day to discuss registration. “Supporting your demand, we will restore the card system. Online applications already submitted will remain valid. But the system will be reinstated as it used to be. This will take a little time; it cannot be done immediately tomorrow,” he said.
Asked about the timeline, Akhtar Ahmed added that the process needs time to be properly re-established, but the EC had agreed in principle to revert to the manual system.
He clarified that journalists who have already registered online and received approval will retain their cards, and no new online registration will be required.
Earlier, the EC had planned to provide journalists’ election coverage cards and vehicle stickers through online applications ahead of the parliamentary election and referendum. The change had caused difficulties for journalists, prompting leaders of journalist organizations to warn Thursday morning that they would take strict measures regarding election coverage and reporting if the issues with cards and stickers were not resolved by Sunday.
