As the interim government has been engaging employees to actively promote “Yes” vote in the upcoming referendum, Election Commission has announced that such campaigning constitutes a punishable offence.
The decision comes as the government has allocated substantial public funds for the campaign, with several ministries already receiving large budget allocations for referendum-related publicity, raising questions over legality and neutrality.
On Thursday, EC formally instructed all returning officers that civil servants are prohibited from campaigning for or against the referendum. Copies of the directive were also sent to cabinet secretary, principal secretary to chief adviser and other senior officials.
In its written instruction, EC cited Section 21 of the Referendum Ordinance 2025 and Article 86 of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972.
It stated that while government employees may inform and educate public about the referendum, they are not permitted to call on voters to support either “Yes” or “No”. Such actions, the commission warned, could influence the outcome of the referendum and would constitute a punishable offence under existing law.
The commission’s stance appears to contradict earlier statements from government officials, who had repeatedly claimed there was no legal bar on civil servants campaigning in favour of the “Yes” vote.
When asked about the EC’s instruction, Ali Riaz, special assistant to the chief adviser and chief coordinator of the government’s referendum campaign, said he had only just seen the directive and would not comment immediately.
“I have just seen it. At this moment, I will not make any comment. I will speak to the legal panel and then I will be able to comment,” he said.
The disagreement highlights a growing face-off between the election authority and the government over the legal boundaries of state involvement in the referendum.
Earlier, Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar had said only officials directly involved in election administration would be barred from campaigning. Speaking on Tuesday, he said returning officers, assistant returning officers and other officials performing election duties must remain neutral and could not campaign for either side. “Once someone becomes a returning officer, they are no longer aligned with any side,” he said.
However, the commission later clarified that the restriction applies to all government employees, not just those assigned election duties. Election Commissioner (Law) Abdur Rahmanel Masud told TIMES of Bangladesh on Thursday that under the RPO, no civil servant of the republic is allowed to campaign for either “Yes” or “No” in the referendum. When asked whether this applied only to election officials, he said, “It refers to all government employees.”
When asked about claims of Ali Riaz that there was no legal bar on such campaigning, Masud said, “I do not know why he said that. We have explained our position in accordance with the law.”
The controversy has intensified amid reports that nearly Tk 100 crore has been allocated across ministries for referendum campaigning, with funds reportedly channelled through EC for publicity purposes.
Ali Riaz has repeatedly stated that there is no legal obstacle to civil servants campaigning for the “Yes” vote.
Addressing government officials in divisional meetings in Mymensingh on 19 January and in Sylhet on 24 January, he said that neither the constitution, the RPO, July National Charter Implementation Order 2025 nor the referendum ordinance prohibits civil servants from advocating what he described as “positive change”.
“There is no reference anywhere that says civil servants cannot speak in favour of positive change,” he told officials. “No one can show a legal reference proving that campaigning is prohibited. Those who are spreading such claims are creating confusion with ulterior motives.”
As the referendum approaches, the clash between the interim government and EC has raised fresh concerns over the neutrality of the process and the role of state institutions in shaping public opinion.
