United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission will sit with 12 more political parties on Sunday as part of its ongoing electoral dialogue ahead of the next general election. The Commission will exchange views with six parties in the morning session and with another six parties in the afternoon session on November 16, said EC’s (Public Relation) Assistant Director Asadul Haque. The six parties who are being invited for the Sunday’s morning session are Gonoforum, Gono Front, Islamic Front Bangladesh, Islami Oikyajote, Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP) and Bangladesh Jatiya Party. The six other parties for the afternoon session are Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Bangladesh Jasod, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Trinomul BNP, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis and Islami Andolan Bangladesh. The Election Commission opened its much-talked-about pre-election dialogue with registered political parties on Thursday by holding discussions with six parties in the first session of the day. EC’s pre-election dialogue starts with 6 parties in opening batch  On the opening day, the Commission held talks with a total of 12 registered political parties in two separate sessions.  The 12 parties are Liberal Democratic Party-LDP, Bangladesh Congress, Bangladesh Muslim League, National People's Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Jamiyate Ulamaye Islam Bangladesh Communist Party of Bangladesh-CPB, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal-Basod, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Front-BNF and Bangladesh Nationalist Movement-BNM. Currently, there are 53 registered political parties, excluding the Awami League, whose registration remains suspended. Besides, the EC recognised three new parties, including NCP, as registered parties. The Commission aims to complete the dialogue with all registered political parties within this month before the announcement of the national election schedule in early December. In late September 2025, the Commission opened a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders amid talks with civil society representatives on September 28. Later, the EC held separate dialogues with the representatives of teachers, senior journalists from different media outlets, election experts and election observers.  

The Election Commission (EC) will start electoral dialogue with different stakeholders, including political parties and civil society members on September 28 (Sunday) ahead of the national election, said its Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Tuesday. “The dialogue will begin on Sunday (Sept 28). The talks will first be held with civil society representatives and teachers,” he told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital. In the electoral roadmap unveiled last month, the EC said the dialogue with stakeholders, including political parties, civil society members, media persons, observers, election experts and July worriers, would begin in the last week of September and complete the talks within the next one and a half months.  BNP yet to approve candidates for national election: Rizvi Turning to the amendment to electoral laws, the EC Secretary said the proposed electoral code of conduct and the rules related to electoral symbols have already been vetted and sent back to the Election Commission.  He said the ‘Shapla’ (water lily) symbol is not included in the revised list of electoral symbols. So, the National Citizen Party (NCP) must submit a fresh application to the Commission for an alternative symbol.  “As the ‘Shapla’ symbol is not in the revised list of symbols, NCP cannot get it. They have been asked to apply for an alternative symbol, but the choice must be made from the symbols that are already approved by the Commission,” Akhtar added.