The Election Commission (EC) has finalised a draft roadmap for holding the 13th parliamentary election in February next year, but it is highly unlikely to announce it this week due to two key challenges.
Officials concerned say several issues have emerged before the EC regarding the announcement of the roadmap, putting the independent body, which will oversee the elections, in a quandary over expatriate voting and the reform of election-related laws and regulations.
A decision has been made to allow expatriates to cast their votes, but how this will be done remains uncertain. Officials say an application will be developed for expatriates to register. This will determine the number of expat voters, who, as per the plan, will cast their votes via postal ballots.
The EC wants only those holding e-passports to be eligible, but the BNP is insisting that voters with other types of passports should also be included.
“Since we don’t have previous experience with postal votes, we find it very complicated. We don’t know how many will register from how many countries. We need to collect postal votes from all destinations quickly to announce the election result. Any delay will have serious consequences,” an official told TIMES of Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the EC sent a Tk50 crore proposal to the Planning Commission to develop a digital platform for smooth expat voting, but as of Tuesday, its fate remains unknown.
However, the EC expects that the proposal will soon be approved and that the process to develop the platform will begin in the coming weeks. As the decision remains pending, the announcement of the roadmap may be delayed, the official added, wishing to remain anonymous.
Another important matter is the reform of election-related laws and regulations. There is also indecision over when these crucial reforms will take place, as rival political parties have differing opinions.
The EC has completed all necessary work regarding the reform of laws and regulations. However, several aspects depend on the government and the National Consensus Commission for finalisation.
Recently, the Election Commission Secretariat Law and the Election Officers (Special Provision) Ordinance were sent to the law ministry for vetting, while the Election Conduct Rules await notification, EC sources said.
“We are waiting for the laws and regulations. Any delay in returning them to us will cause a delay in announcing the roadmap and the election schedule,” one official said.
EC officials said the roadmap will also include detailed schedules for election preparations such as updating the voter list, redrawing parliamentary constituency boundaries, registering new political parties, training programmes, procurement of election materials, and approval of election observer organisations.
If all preparations are completed by October, the election schedule will be announced in early December, making voting in February possible, according to the EC.
The draft roadmap states that registration of political parties and redrawing of constituency boundaries could be completed by September. Procurement of all election materials is also planned to be finished next month.
Additionally, updating the voter list ahead of the election is planned to be completed by November. Dialogue with election stakeholders is scheduled for late September and will continue throughout October.
In October, the EC will also conduct training programmes for those involved in the election. District election officers will be instructed to stockpile, test, and assess the requirements for election materials and report 15 days before the announcement of the schedule, meaning by mid-November.
The roadmap also mentions that printing of various manuals, guidelines, posters, and identity cards should be completed by October, one month before the schedule is announced. Furthermore, the roadmap specifies that polling stations must be finalised 25 days before the election.
Multiple EC sources said field-level information on the 22 parties initially qualified for new registration has been requested and is expected to be completed by 31 August.
Despite the challenges, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed is hopeful of announcing the roadmap this week.
“As far as I know, the roadmap is nearly finalised. We are now working on constituency boundaries. Work is also ongoing regarding new party registration. We will complete these tasks as soon as possible,” Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told Times of Bangladesh.
Regarding talks with political parties, he said, “We are currently focusing more on party registration and boundaries. Discussions with political parties may follow thereafter.”
On the election schedule, he added, “The schedule may be announced 55 to 60 days before the election.”