The government of Bangladesh has decided not to proceed with purchasing 2 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs) at the moment, but the procurement project has not been cancelled, Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam said today (January 23, 2023). “The Planning Commission has decided to suspend the processing of the project, considering the government’s financial capacity amid the ongoing global economic crisis,” he said while speaking at a press briefing held at the Election Commission in Dhaka. Read more: Vote using ballot papers if EVM scheme not passed by mid-January: Commissioner Rasheda On September 19 last year, the Election Commission approved a Tk 8,711 crore project to procure electronic voting machines (EVMs) for 150 constituencies, out of 300, for the 12th parliamentary election. On August 23, the EC decided to use electronic voting machines instead of traditional ballot papers in maximum of 150 constituencies in the next general election – likely to be held early next year. The decision received strong opposition from BNP and its allies, who did not join talks with the CEC that continued throughout the month of July. Read more: EVMs: How many seats to be known by Jan However, the ruling Awami League welcomed the decision as it was their demand to use EVMs in all 300 seats in the next election.

The presidential election of Bangladesh will be held within February 23. Election Commission  (EC) Secretary Md.  Jahangir Alam said this while talking to reporters after a meeting held at EC building on Sunday. "The process has already started. We will contact the Parliament Secretariat and fix the date of the Chief Election Commissioner’s meeting with the Speaker," he said. Current president Abdul Hamid cannot be elected president for another term as the country’s constitution allows a maximum of two terms for a person in the post of president. Hamid is the only President who has been serving for two consecutive terms. His second and last tenure will expire on April 24 this year.  On Apr 24, 2013, Abdul Hamid was sworn in as the 20th President of Bangladesh. Read More: EC starts receiving applications for settling objections to draft voter list   After the end of his first tenure, Hamid also took oath as the president on the same date in 2018 for the second term. Lawmakers vote in the presidential election, which is supposed to be held in the House with the CEC acting as the election officer.  

The Public Service (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was placed in Parliament on Tuesday seeking to make mandatory for the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies to take clearance from the Finance Division over financial expenditures. State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain tabled the proposed legislation and it was sent to the respective scrutiny committee for further examination. The committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days. Read more: Bill incorporating max 10 years’ jail for leaking PSC exam questions passed in parliament In the existing Public Service Act, 2018, the Finance Division has authority over the financial matters of the government entities, officials and employees, but it was not clear what would be the involvement of the Finance Division regarding the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies. The public universities, the Election Commission, or local bodies like city corporations and union parishads will have to take opinions of the Finance Division over their financial expenditures. Read more: Bill placed in JS to establish universities in Meherpur, Naogaon It had been mandatory too for the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies to take clearance from the Finance Division before, but the enactment of the existing law in 2018 made it unclear.

The Election Commission on Monday started receiving applications for settling the objections to the draft of the updated voter list . The Commission informed that they will receive applications till January 31 andsettle the objections within February 7. Read more: Voter numbers increased by 57.74 lakh in draft list: EC The total number of voters in the country is now over 11.50 crore as the Election Commission on Sunday released a draft of the updated voter list with 57.74 lakh new voters. The total number of voters in the final voter list published on March 2 last year was 11,32,87,010 which has increased to 11,90,61,158 this year. The total voter growth rate this time stands at 5.10 percent. In a letter sent by the Election Commission to the field level officials on December 11 last, everyone was instructed to send the draft list on January 15. Every year the draft list is published on January 2 but this time it did not happen. There is a provision to update the voter list from January 2 to March 2 as per the voter list rules, EC officials said. Read more: EC: Updated draft voter list to be published on Jan 15 According to the provision, the final list is published on March 2 after settling the objections to the draft list. This time, the release of the draft voter list has been delayed, but the schedule of the final list will remain unchanged.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said that the election commission will examine the reasons behind the slow voting through EVM during the Rangpur City Corporation Election (RCC). “Some problems have been reported in the Rangpur City Corporation election. We’ve got complaints of slow vote casting through EVMs (electronic voting machines),” the CEC told the reporters after a post-election meeting of Rangpur City Corporation at the Election Commission Bhaban. “EC does not want to see such problem in future. So discussions are ongoing with all parties,” he said. Read more: Election violence under present EC drops to zero: CEC Although there had been less fingerprint problem in RCC election, the vote casting was slow due to various reasons, said the CEC.

No irregularities have been reported yet at the polling stations during the Gaibandha by-election, said Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana. She said this while observing the election on CCTV cameras from the Election Commission office at Agargaon in the capital on Wednesday morning. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway She also said that the voter turnout was low due to cold weather. "We can see the voting in the CCTV cameras. So far, there has been no problem at the polling centers," she said. EC IDEA Project DPD (Communications) Squadron Leader Shahriar Alam told reporters that the election is being monitored directly from Dhaka through a total of 1,242 CCTV cameras. The voting is being monitored by CC cameras from 8 am at the EC control room on the fifth floor of the Election Commission building.  Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: EC to take action against 133 officials Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Election Commissioners Ahsan Habib Khan, Md. Alamgir, Rashida Sultana and Anisur Rahman are monitoring the polls. 

Voting in the by-election for Gaibandha-5 constituency, which was suspended due to irregularities, is underway with participation of voters in a festive mood. Voting started at 8 am and will continue till 4:30 pm. No untoward incident was reported till the filing of this report around 10 am. People were seen standing in long queues since morning, ignoring the cold. The presence of female voters is comparatively higher than their male counterparts. A total of 3,39,743 people are expected to exercise their franchise in 145 polling centres. Of them, 1,70,160 are females and 1,69,583 are male. District Election Officer and Returning officer Abdul Motaleb said that of the 145 polling centres, 72 are consider "important" while 32 are counted as "most important". Read: EC has 'no legal obligation' to bring parties to election All preparations have been taken to hold a smooth, free and fair election, he said. Elections will be monitored through CCTV cameras as done before. Rab, police, BGB and Ansar members will remain deployed to hold the election peacefully, said Motaleb. The candidates of the Gaibandha-5 by-election are: Awami League candidate Mahmud Hasan Ripon, Jatiya Party candidate AHM Golam Shaheed Ranju, Bikalpa Dhara candidate Advocate Jahangir Alam and independent candidate Syed Mahbubur Rahman. The constituency consists of Saghata and Phulchhari upazilas. On October 12 last year, the Election Commission (EC) suspended the by-election due to “rampant irregularities” on the election day and later the commission fixed January 4 for holding the polls. Following the death of Gaibandha-5 lawmaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Fazle Rabbi Miah on July 22, 2022, it became a constitutional obligation to hold election for the parliamentary seat by October 20, 2022. Accordingly it was scheduled for October 12. A three-member committee was formed to look into the election irregularities on October 12 last year. Following the recommendations of the committee, the Election Commission took punitive actions against 133 officials including an additional deputy commissioner, five sub-inspectors and returning officer of the election. Read More: EC to delve into slow voting complaint in Rangpur City Corporation Polls

Voting in five municipalities and 66 union parishads began on Thursday morning. The five municipalities are—Bagha in Rajshahi, Birol in Dinajpur, Boda in Panchagarh, Alfadanga in Faridpur and Banpara in Natore district. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were being used in the municipality elections. The voting began at 8am and will continue till 4:30 pm. Also read;UP elections: Voting underway in 160 union parishads, 9 municipalities No untoward incident was reported in the beginning hours of the day.  In Panchagarh, voting in the Boda municipality election started in nine polling centres. Some 14,512 people including 7,461 women will vote in the election at Boda, said Returning officer Md Alamgir. Nine executive magistrates, one judicial magistrate, one platoon of BGB, Rab, police and Ansar members will perform their duties at the nine polling stations, he said. The Election Commission said voting in 66 union parishads across the country was also undergoing from Thursday morning.  

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said that there is no pressure from the international community or foreign diplomats on the Election Commission regarding next parliamentary elections expected to be held early 2024. He made the comment while speaking at the inauguration of the distribution of smart national identity cards in Patuakhali. Read more: Democratic practice won't develop without electoral competition: CEC The Election Commission has no comment on the statements made by the diplomats over the national elections, he said. “It is a matter of the government and those who are speaking is a bilateral issue. I will not comment on this as Chief Election Commissioner,” he said. Expecting BNP’s participation in the election, the CEC said, “However, no party is being forced to participate in the elections.” Read more: Govt’s cooperation needed for holding fair election: CEC “BNP is an important opposition party. The election will be more participatory if they come forward,” he said. “We are hopeful that all opposition parties, including BNP, will participate in the next parliamentary election,” said the CEC.

Election commissioner (EC) Md Alamgir said the number of constituencies that will be voted on by electronic voting machines (EVM) will be known within January. "The decision will be made within the month of January regarding how many seats' election will be held through EVM in the 12th national election," he said. EC Alamgir said this to reporters at his office in the Agargaon election building in the capital on Tuesday. Read more: No budget for CCTV monitoring in by-elections: Election commissioner He said  polling can be held in 70 seats with the current number of EVMs while how many more depends on the amount allocated in the budget.  The Election Commissioner also said that if sufficient budget is available by January, then the EVM voting will be held in 150 seats.  But it will not be possible if the budget is received in February.