Election Commissioner Tahmida Ahmed on Sunday made a proposal for conducting voting in open fields instead of closed rooms of schools and colleges in a bid to enhance transparency in the election process.

“How can it be transparent if we conduct the election in the closed rooms of a confined house? It definitely will not be transparent. That’s why I want the elections to be held in an open field,” she said while addressing a discussion at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital on Sunday, marking National Voter Day 2025.

This year, National Voter Day is being observed with the theme "We will cast votes together in your and my Bangladesh" (Tomar Amar Bangladeshe, Vote Dibo Milemishe).

Tahmida Ahmad said she wants to conduct the balloting in the open fields of schools and colleges within the boundary walls. “Does this seem crazy?” she said.

Noting that reforms are seen everywhere now, she said if anyone is asked what kind of election they want, the person would instantly reply that they want free, fair, and transparent elections.

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“The word ‘transparent’ really resonates with me. I, too, want our elections to be transparent. But how can it be transparent if we conduct the voting in closed rooms of a confined house?” she said.

The election commissioner also provided an example of how a boundary rope could be set up in an open field to prevent anyone from entering the designated area during the balloting.

“When we go to the bank, they make a line with a thin rope. Do we stay within the line? Do we follow it? Yes, we do. So, why wouldn’t people follow the same when it comes to voting? Why shouldn’t we do this? Why wouldn’t you cooperate with us?” she said.

She said if the people cooperate, the EC will arrange the elections in the open fields. “This is the kind of reform I want to bring. We won’t stick to the traditional method of conducting the election in closed rooms. We want to do it in the open fields,” she went on.

Tahmida Ahmed said it might seem like a crazy idea at first, but it is not. “Nothing is impossible. We want to prove it,” she said.

Another Election Commissioner, Brig Gen (Retd) Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah, said the data of 53,33,563 eligible voters have so far been collected across the country during the ongoing voter registration programme that started on January 20 last and will be completed by June next.

He said some 1.9 million deceased voters have so far been removed and the data 3.6 million dropped out voters had been collected, surpassing the EC’s target of 2.6 to 2.7 million dropout voters during the ongoing registration campaign.

Sanaullah pointed out that it is time to consider whether it is essential to go on a door-to-door campaign to update the country’s voter lists now in the era of the digitized world.

“We’ll have to think about whether we will go door to door at all in the future, because we are in a digitised world.  Secondly, there is a cost involved in going door to door,” he said.

The commissioner said both mistakes in the voter lists and costs can be reduced, if the people take responsibility (going to designated places or online) to complete the registration process.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, two other election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud and Md Anwarul Islam Sarker also spoke at the discussion presided over by EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed.