Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey met Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday at the commission’s office and discussed preparations for the upcoming national election.

“He wanted to know our election preparation, our progress and relevant issues. They (the Shirley Botchwey-led Commonwealth delegation) have been given an idea over the issues,” said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed after the meeting at Nirbachan Bhaban.

During the discussion, the Commonwealth delegation focused on various election-related issues including overall electoral preparation, the referendum to be held on the same day, women’s participation, out-of-country voting, and tackling misinformation and disinformation.

The commonwealth was informed that since the election and the referendum are held in a single day, the referendum would be an additional responsibility for the Election Commission.

“About our preparation, they would be a challenge. But they hope that the way we are moving forward with our preparations, we will be successful,” said the EC Secretary.

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Sharing an experience from Ghana, the Commonwealth delegation cautioned about the growing challenges of fake news. In response, the EC informed them that regular information is being disseminated through the media and that such efforts will be further expanded, he said.

“We’ve told them that we are prepared and we are constantly informing everyone through the media and we will scale it up in phases. Trust in the election system is very important. For that, campaign is crucial,” the EC said.

Foreign election observers also came up during the discussion. The EC reiterated that international observers will be welcomed.

In this context, the Commonwealth delegation expressed hope that their (International observers’ presence) will help make the election more credible, he said.

The commonwealth team also wants to know about the law and order situation in the country.

In response, the EC told them that the entire country is being divided into three zones - Red, Yellow and Green—to ensure security during the election particularly on the balloting day. “Security arrangements will be ensured accordingly (to the zoning maps).

Replying to another question what kind of cooperation EC wants from the Commonwealth, Akhtar Ahmed said, “We have not told (them) anything specific yet. It will take some time to discuss among ourselves and determine where cooperation may be needed.”