The most notable achievement of the recent parliamentary election was that voters were able to cast their ballots freely and that political parties accepted the results, said Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), on Wednesday.

“Despite various questions surrounding the election, the most important point is that people were able to vote and exercise their franchise without obstruction and political parties accepted the outcome,” he said at a programme titled “Presentation of a research-based evaluation of the 13th Parliamentary Election and Referendum 2026,” organised by SHUJAN.

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He said allegations of some isolated irregularities have surfaced and should be examined through proper investigation.

SHUJAN central committee member Ekram Hossain read out the written paper.

Badiul Alam said that although the overall environment allowed voters to exercise their franchise without major obstacles, there were allegations of isolated irregularities which need to be examined through proper investigation.

“If the legal framework is inadequate, the possibility of a fair election also diminishes.Elections held under party governments in the past failed to create a conducive environment for credible polls. He warned that similar questions would persist if existing legal provisions related to elections are not fully and strictly followed.”

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He said the Election System Reform Commission had earlier placed several reform proposals.

Had those recommendations been incorporated into law, controversies surrounding loan defaulters, dual citizenship and the eligibility of independent candidates could have been avoided, he said.

On loan defaulters, he said the commission proposed that loans must be regularised at least six months before an election and that habitual defaulters should not be allowed to contest at all.

The failure to implement these recommendations has once again led to debate.

Regarding independent candidates, he said the commission had proposed collecting signatures from a fixed number of voters—500—instead of one percent of the electorate, which could have reduced allegations of collusion.