Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has expressed hope that schedule for the upcoming 13th national election will be announced in the second week of December.
He said this after inspecting the mock voting at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls’ High School on Saturday morning. The mock voting began around 8am. A total of 500 voters are expected to cast their votes.
Additional law enforcers were stationed outside for the security of the polling centre.
Inside the voting room, the returning officer, assistant returning officers, presiding officer, and polling officers were seen working as per standard procedure. As voters arrived, they were being provided with the electoral ballot and the referendum ballot.
CEC said, “The purpose of today’s rehearsal is to see in reality what the environment of an ideal polling centre would be like. We are checking everything through practical demonstration – the voter queue, the activities of the polling officers, the role of the presiding officers, what kind of situation might arise in the presence of journalists and observers.”
He informed that since many, including first-time voters, have no experience of voting, the mock voting gives them a hands-on idea. Simultaneously, EC is measuring its capacity for overall time management of the vote collection process.
He commented that since the referendum will also be held this time alongside the election, time management has become even more important.
The CEC said, “We usually collect votes from 8am to 4pm. This time, an additional referendum has to be conducted. Therefore, based on today’s real-time assessment, a decision will be made on whether 42,500 polling stations are sufficient or if there is a need to increase booths.”
He further said, “Increasing booths means additional costs for manpower, boxes, logistics, and more. However, the Commission will prioritize need over cost. I do not want to cause people hardship. If it takes more time, we will increase booths or centres. The decision will be based on today’s experience.”
Voters told several media that while they did not face major issues with the national election ballot, they found the time allotted to read the referendum ballot was insufficient. Some also showed no interest in reading it.
Consequently, some cast their “Yes” or “No” vote in the referendum without fully understanding it.
Regarding many people standing in line for an hour and a half, CEC said, “This is also an experience. In today’s assessment, we will see where the shortcomings are. Based on practical experience, these gaps will be filled.”
Referring to recent violent incidents, he informed, “Law and order in Bangladesh was never perfect. Isolated incidents will always be there. However, the overall situation has improved a lot. We are working closely with all agencies including police, RAB, Ansar, BGB, and the army. The situation is much calmer now compared to before.”
He also said although there are four questions in the referendum, the vote will be “Yes” or “No” – the questions are bundled together as per the law. There is no separate option to vote “Yes” on one or two questions and “No” on the rest.
Concerned officials informed that participants in this trial vote include senior voters, slum dwellers, students, members of the hijra community, persons with disabilities, and voters from the Election Training Institute project.
