Even though the BNP has agreed to the reform proposal for reinstating the caretaker government system to oversee the upcoming national election, the party insists on maintaining the previous 90-day tenure instead of the 120-day period proposed by the Electoral System Reform Commission. "The caretaker government system is an exceptional measure in the context of Bangladesh's realities. It is a constitutional provision designed to enable the state to be run by elected representatives of the public. So, in this regard, it is preferable to have a caretaker government for a 90-day period, as was the case in the past," the party said in response to the reform recommendation made by the Electoral System Reform Commission. Plans afoot to tackle shortage of water in fighting Sundarban fires In its recent submission to the National Consensus Commission, the BNP also said the main responsibility of the caretaker government is to ensure the conduct of a fair and credible national election. "So, its role should be limited to arranging the national parliamentary elections, and no other elections should be held during its 90-day tenure. The Electoral System Reform Commission recommended a four-month caretaker government system to oversee the national election as well as all local government elections within its tenure. The National Consensus Commission, led by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, began its work on February 15, 2025, with the aim of building consensus on the state reform recommendations put forward by the five reform commissions. The commission identified key recommendations from the reports of the five reform commissions—the Constitution Reform Commission, the Public Administration Reform Commission, the Electoral System Reform Commission, the Judiciary Reform Commission, and the ACC Reform Commission—to solicit opinions from political parties. Subsequently, the Consensus Commission sent a spreadsheet containing 166 recommendations to 38 political parties, requesting their specific opinions on the most important reform proposals. On March 23, the BNP submitted its opinions to the National Consensus Commission regarding key recommendations from the five reform commissions. Rather than providing a simple 'Yes' or 'No' response, the party presented its views in a separate column for each recommendation. Regarding the 27 reform recommendations related to the electoral system, the BNP partially agreed with 8 to 9 of them. For many of the remaining recommendations, the party either disagreed or stated that they are constitutionally significant and should be decided by an elected parliament. The Electoral Reform Commission, in its recommendations, proposed that the caretaker government should be granted the authority to reform necessary laws and rules, as well as to reshuffle the administration beyond its routine functions, in order to ensure fair, impartial and credible elections. Eid exodus underway from capital The BNP strongly opposed this recommendation, arguing that it pertains to constitutional matters. "Administrative reshuffling is a routine duty of the caretaker government. There is no scope for this government to undertake any other responsibilities beyond its routine functions during the election period.” The Electoral Reform Commission also suggested the establishment of a permanent National Constitutional Council to finalise the appointment of the head of the caretaker government. Following this, the head of the caretaker government would appoint an additional 20 advisers. Regarding the recommendation, the BNP said the issue also pertains to constitutional reform. Since it involves a fundamental change, the party argued that an elected national parliament, which has the power to amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority vote, should make the appropriate decision on this matter. On the matter of holding local government elections before the national election during the polls-time government, the BNP said the primary responsibility of the caretaker or interim government is to conduct the national election, not the local government elections. “Whenever the National Parliament is dissolved, it is essential to hold parliamentary elections within 90 days. So, there is no scope for holding local government elections before the National Parliament elections under the caretaker government, the party said. The BNP also opposed the proposal to establish a permanent independent authority for the delimitation of constituencies, stating that constituency delimitation is a key constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission. “So, creating a separate authority for this task would lead to dual authorities and administrative complexities, which is undesirable.” About the commission’s proposal to establish a permanent National Constitutional Council (NCC) for appointments to all constitutional bodies, including the Election Commission, the BNP rejected it, arguing that the formation of such a council appears to contradict the constitution. The commission proposed that if Election Commissioners fail to perform their duties or violate their oath, a parliamentary committee would investigate and recommend actions to the President. In response, the BNP argued that the Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and should not be accountable to a parliamentary committee, cautioning against any actions that could undermine its independence. The Commission has proposed to include registered political parties in the Right to Information Act 2009 and BNP agreed in principle with this proposal. The BNP also opposed the proposal to amend the International Crimes Tribunal and the RPO to prevent those accused of crimes against humanity from participating in parliamentary elections, saying the qualifications and disqualifications of candidates for national parliamentary elections are already outlined in the constitution and the RPO. The party also noted that any attempt to disqualify those accused of atrocities, including the killing of countless students, women, and children, would require necessary constitutional amendments. About the recommendation to limit a prime minister's tenure to a maximum of two terms, the BNP highlighted that its 31-point reform proposal included a commitment to amend the Constitution to impose a maximum of two consecutive terms. On the suggestion to disqualify a two-time elected prime minister from becoming president, the party stated that this is a matter of constitutional reform. The reform commission also proposed that the same person should not hold the positions of party chief, prime minister, and Leader of the House simultaneously. But, the BNP disagreed, arguing that the leader of the majority party in Parliament naturally assumes the roles of both the Leader of the House and the prime minister. "It is essential for accountability in parliamentary politics. Besides, this decision is within the discretion of the party concerned," the BNP opined. About the recommendation to establish a 100-seat upper house in the parliament, the party said the issue was incorporated in its 31-point agenda. Bangladesh labour market shrinks as manpower exports decline by nearly 30% “We agree with the establishment of an upper house. But it is essential to determine the procedure, system, the number of seats, its jurisdiction and different issues by an elected parliament,” the party said. The party also agreed with the suggestion to pick the deputy speaker from the opposition party, but said this system should be taken by an elected parliament. About the recommendation to form the lower house with 400 representatives elected through direct votes, BNP said the issue can be considered by an elected parliament after proper assessment.

The ‘operational halt’ (three-hour work abstention) programme of the Election Commission’s officials and employees has been postponed. The programme was earlier announced to be held on Wednesday, demanding cancellation of the move to transfer NID operation to a separate registration entity.  Convener of Bangladesh Election Commission Officers Association Mohammad Monir Hossain announced the postponement of the programme at a press conference at Nirbachan Bbaban on Tuesday. He said the EC is active in addressing their demands. The commission has sent letters to the government and the consensus commission that the NID operation should be under the EC. “The EC Senior Secretary has also assured us. So, we have postponed Wednesday's operational halt programme, considering the overall public service (hamper) and the assurance,” said Monir Hossain. Director General of the Electoral Training Institute SM Asaduzzaman said if the process of meeting their IR demands is delayed, a 'complete shutdown' programme will be announced in the coming days. On March 13, the EC officers and employees observed a ‘Stand for NID’ programme in protest against the move to NID services to a separate registration commission. The current government has initiated the fresh move to bring a number of civic services, including birth registration and national identity registration services, under a single entity named the ‘Civil Registration Commission’, causing frustrations among the EC’s officials and employees. DCCI proposes single-digit VAT rate in budget recommendations On March 3 last, a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee was held in the Cabinet Division to review the draft of the 'Civil Registration (Commission) Ordinance, 2025'. A representative from the EC Secretariat was also present at the additional secretary-level meeting. In 2023, the previous Awami League government enacted the National Identity Registration Act, 2023 to transfer the national identity registration operation from the Election Commission to the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.       

The Election Commission has sent its opinions to the National Consensus Commission, contradicting a number of reform proposals related to the election. “Addressing Prof Ali Riaz sir (Vice-chair of the national consensus commission), we’ve sent our opinions, expressing different views over some proposals – it may be 7-8 or 9-10,” said EC senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed while talking to reporters at his office in the capital on Monday. Raising some different views, he said the formation of a commission for the delimitation of constituencies as recommended by the reform commission is not needed. “We’ve said that the commission over the delimitation of constituencies is not needed,” he said. Besides, Akhtar Ahmed said, a formula of plus or minus 10 percent voters for the delimitation of constituencies, which is also not required. The EC argued that if the formula is followed, the number of constituencies in the urban areas will be significantly high and would be disproportionate as the influx of people towards urban areas is enormous, he said. Talking about other different views, Akhtar Ahmed said there is a proposal that the EC should make an announcement through a public notification in favour of fairness, credibility and acceptance of a national election within 48 hours of the balloting and before the issuance of gazette notification. About this proposal, he said the EC thinks this certification is not needed as a returning officer doesn’t announce unofficial election results, if he or she is not satisfied. The EC secretary said they think the number of voters and people and also geographical integrity should rightly be considered here. Akhtar Ahmed, however, said they agreed to the reform proposal to keep the national identity services under the authority of the Election Commission. Now the EC is properly providing services to 186 firms from the NID server.

Officials and employees of the Election Commission (EC) are going to stage demonstrations on Thursday in protest against the move to transfer national identity (NID) services to a separate registration commission. As part of the demonstration, they will form human chains under the banner ‘Stand for NID’ at the EC Secretariat and its regional offices across the country. Convener of Bangladesh Election Commission Officers Association Mohammad Monir Hossain on Wednesday announced the programme at a press conference at the EC Secretariat in the capital. “We’ll observe the ‘Stand for NID’ programme from 11am to 1pm tomorrow at the EC Secretariat and its offices throughout the country,” he said.   Monir Hossain said they (EC officials) submitted a memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner on March 5 demanding visible steps from the EC and the government to cancel this initiative.  Listed extortionist held with arms in Dhaka The EC agreed with them and sent a letter to the government on March 9 arguing to keep the NID services under its authority, he said. “Despite receiving a response from the commission, we have not received anything from the government. So, we announced this programme as our demand was not met by March 12,” said the EC official. The current government has initiated the fresh move to bring a number of civic services, including birth registration and national identity registration services, under a single entity named the ‘Civil Registration Commission’, causing frustrations among the EC’s officials and employees. On March 3 last, a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee was held in the Cabinet Division to review the draft of the 'Civil Registration (Commission) Ordinance, 2025'. A representative from the EC Secretariat was also present at the additional secretary-level meeting. In 2023, the previous Awami League government enacted the National Identity Registration Act, 2023 to transfer the national identity registration operation from the Election Commission to the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Tuesday said the Election Commission is thinking about introducing a proxy voting system in a bid to ensure the franchise of expatriate Bangladeshis in the upcoming national election.  “In the next election, if we really want to fulfill the expectations and keep what the Chief Adviser (on December 16, 2024) said we want to fulfill the expectations of the expatriates; then we will have to go for proxy voting system… but the final decision depends on a consensus among political parties and other stakeholders,” he said while taking to reporters at Nirbachon Bhaban in the capital. Sanaullah is the head of a committee formed by the Election Committee to examine the balloting systems to ensure the application of voting rights of the expatriate Bangladeshis. He said that the Chief Adviser, in his address to the nation on December 16, specifically said that this time they want to ensure the votes of expatriate Bangladeshis. “This time, we want to implement, not just assure. We want to invent a reliable system,” the chief adviser was quoted as saying. In light of the Chief Adviser, the Election Commission has given the responsibility to the concerned committee to submit a proposal in this regard, said the Election Commissioner. “The Election Commission is making every effort to bring expatriate Bangladeshis under the voting system,” he said. 42,000 Bangladeshi expats seek voter registration abroad The committee examined three balloting systems for expatriates – postal balloting system, online balloting system and proxy balloting system. About the postal system, he said, their (committee’s) finding is that the postal system is currently a dysfunctional system for expatriates. “That is why not a single vote was cast by an expatriate in the last 12th parliamentary elections. A total of 433 votes were cast from the people within Bangladesh,” he added. About the online voting system, the Election Commissioner said online voting has not become very popular in different countries like the United States, the Philippines, Estonia and Mexico. “Besides, in our subcontinent, India, Pakistan and a few countries are piloting online systems.” But during a discussion, the UNDP said many people could not succeed with this online system and finally returned to their previous system. Talking about the proxy voting system, Sanaullah said the proxy balloting system is practiced in various countries, including Australia and England. In India, it is practiced only for the members of the armed forces, he said. He said the arguments in favour of this proxy system include this system is practiced in some places globally, a system is here in Bangladesh that lands and other properties can be sold by another person through power of attorney, and there is also a tradition here that the persons with physically-challenged people can vote with the help of others. “This is the only method that the (balloting) can be done in minimum time and in real time,” said the Election Commissioner. Voters in Bangladesh now stand at 123.7 million: CEC He said the Election Commission will arrange a workshop over the three balloting system by April 7 and 8 next with participation of experts including ones from Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and MIST, experts from the electoral system reform commission and EC’s former expert officials and NGOs. “We want to develop a system,” he said. “Later, we want to discuss with political parties and other stakeholders. Then if we see that this is acceptable, then we will go to the system development. Later we will have to go to testing and auditing,” said Md Sanaullah. He said the EC then will have to change the law and will go for a trial run of the system (proxy balloting system). “We hope, although it is a conditional matter … We think we will be able to implement proxy voting on a larger scale and the rest systems on a trial basis,” said the Election Commissioner. He said although there is no actual information about the number of expatriate voters. According to the information the EC gleaned from 44 Bangladeshi missions in 34 foreign countries, the number of expatriates is 13.2 million. “If we assume 70 to 80 percent are voters, then there are 10 million voters. Only those whose names are on the voter list will be able to vote through proxy balloting system,” he added.

Around 42,000 Bangladeshi expatriates from seven countries have applied for voter registration through Bangladeshi missions over the past one and a half years. According to the latest data from the Election Commission Secretariat, Bangladeshi mission offices abroad have collected the biometrics of some 20,000 applicants. So far, 11,500 national identity (NID) cards have been printed, with 9,500 already dispatched to the respective missions following the completion of the registration process. Besides, around 4,000 applications were rejected on various grounds, while the remaining applications are at different stages of processing. The Election Commission launched its expatriate voter registration and NID services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July 2023, Italy in February 2024, Kuwait and Qatar in May 2024, the United Kingdom (UK) in June 2024, and Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in July 2024. Now the services are available at 11 Bangladeshi missions across these seven countries, but the commission plans to expand voter and NID registration services to 40 countries to accommodate the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. EC invites applications from new parties for registration   As part of this expansion, the services will be introduced in Australia and Canada in April next. In January last, the Electoral System Reform Commission in its report also recommended expediting the registration of expatriate Bangladeshis as voters using passport database information, enabling them to participate in the next general election through postal balloting. It also proposed creating a technical taskforce to introduce an online voting system alongside postal balloting to facilitate expatriate voting. The reform commission emphasised registering all expatriates in the electoral rolls and national identity server swiftly. “Since all expatriate Bangladeshis have passports, the registration process should be completed in a faster way using the information stored in the passport database,” the commission says. The commission recommended that expatriates registered by October 2025 be allowed to vote in the national election through a proposed postal voting system. Commission wants to reach a consensus shortly to formulate 'National Charter’: Ali Riaz  “Some 42,000 expatriates applied from seven foreign countries. The EC has so far approved 18,000 applications and rejected 4,000 applications. The remaining applications are now pending in different stages of the voter registration,” said Md Abdul Momin Sarkar, Director (Registration and Expatriates) at the EC’s National Identity Registration Cell. As of March 03, 2025, some 11,500 smart NID cards were printed and 9,500 smart cards have already been sent to the mission offices in the seven countries for the distribution among the expatriates, he said. Besides, some 20,000 other expatriate Bangladeshis were registered as voters taking the services from one-stop services desk of EC expatriate cell in Bangladesh in the last two years, said the EC official. Asked as to why so few expatriates are interested to be registered as voters, he said millions of expatriates are now voters as most of the expatriates go abroad after getting voters and many other expatriates became voters when they returned to Bangladesh on different occasions, he said. the slow disposal of their applications, the EC officials said no EC’s staff is posted in the 11 Bangladeshi missions for this purpose and the officials of the missions do this task as their additional job.According to a separate statistics prepared a few days ago by the EC Secretariat, a total of 34,040 applications were received from the seven countries. The highest 11,233 applications were received from UAE, while 7,438 from the UK, 5,817 from Italy, 3,362 from Kuwait, 2,934 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 2,417 from Qatar and 839 from Malaysia. There is no specific statistics over how many expatriate Bangladeshis are exactly now in the foreign lands now as the EC received different statistics about it from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and the Foreign Ministry. Making Expat Voters: What does Reform Commission say? According to the statistics of BMET, a total of 1,60,75,487 Bangladeshi workers went abroad from 1976 to 2023. Among them, the highest 57,78,634 in Saudi Arabia, 26,02,026 in UAE, 6,89,692 in Kuwait, 18,84,445 in Oman, 9,02,451 in Qatar, 4,10,485 in Bahrain, 2,71,261 in Lebanon, 2,19,005 in Jordan, 1,23,037 in Libya, 12,476 in Sudan, 14,59,000 in Malaysia, 9,38,365 in Singapore, 52,774 in South Korea, 21,576 in UK, 80,646 in Italy, 3,707 in Japan, 23,158 in Egypt, 78,366 in Brunei, 78,390 in Mauritius, 75,909 in Iraq, 3,27,348 in other countries.

The Election Commission has invited applications from the new political parties by April 20 next to get registered ahead of the next national election. The EC on Monday issued a public notification seeking applications from the parties that are capable of fulfilling the registration conditions mentioned in the Political Party Registration Rules 2008. New political parties are registered with the Election Commission in line with Article 90A of the Representation of the People Order, 1972. If a party is registered with the EC, it can contest the national election with its own electoral symbol. A political party that is keen to get registered must attach necessary documents with its application. The necessary documents include party’s charter; election manifesto, if available; party’s rules, if available; party’s logo and picture of party’s flag; the names and designation of all members of party’s central executive committee or equivalent committee; information related to party’s bank account, bank’s name and the latest balance in account; party’s funding sources statement; and a letter that provided the authority to the person concern to apply for party registration. A political party that desires to get registered will have to submit the copy of the treasury challan deposited with the Secretary of Election Commission Secretariat for the non-refundable registration fee of Tk 5,000 (code number for treasury deposit -1060101100125-110000000-11001000-1422204). Besides, the party must submit the documents in favour of securing at least one seat with its electoral symbol in any parliamentary election held since the independence of Bangladesh, or the document of securing five percent of total votes cast in the constituencies in which its candidates took part in any of the aforesaid parliamentary elections; or the document of establishing a functional central office, by whatever name it may be called with a central committee, functional district offices in at least in one-third administrative districts, functional offices in at least one hundred upazilas or metropolitan thanas having a minimum number of two hundred voters as its members in each of them.  

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said they will strongly urge the government to keep the national identity (NID) services under the Election Commission's control. “We will strongly voice our opinions in the law-making process. Wherever opinions are needed, we will give (opinions). Our entire commission wants this,” he said. The CEC said this while talking to reporters following a sit-in programme of EC employees and officials in front of his office room at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. The EC staff were protesting a fresh move initiated by the current government to enact a law for bringing a number of civic services, including birth registration and national identity registration services, under a single entity named the ‘Civil Registration Commission’. They also gave a seven-day ultimatum to go on fresh programme unless any visible step is taken to over the issue by March 12. Election Commission committed to holding credible polls: CEC Nasir Uddin said he did not hear that the government had already finalised its decision to remove the NID operation from the Election Commission rather there have been discussions. “We will inform the government in writing that it should stay under the EC. We will inform the government on an urgent basis," he said. Earlier, a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee was held in the Cabinet Division on Monday (March 3) to review the draft of the 'Civil Registration (Commission) Ordinance, 2025'. A representative from the EC Secretariat was also present at the additional secretary-level meeting. In 2023, the previous Awami League government enacted the National Identity Registration Act, 2023 to transfer the national identity registration operation from the Election Commission to the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Voters in Bangladesh now stand at 123.7 million: CEC But the Election Commission Secretariat has written to the interim government to repeal the law following the July mass uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Replying to a question, the CEC said he heard that the government perhaps was thinking to provide all kinds of services from one place but the NID services will remain under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission, he said. Nasir Uddin said NID is a byproduct of voter registration operation and the EC officials have worked hard for 17 years, developing the NID network across the country. “The government will definitely take all the issues into consideration. There may be a gap in information. After receiving the written opinion of the commission, this gap will definitely not be there,” he said. He said their position on this matter is clear and they are working on the basis of everyone's consent. The CEC, however, said: “I am not the ultimate decision maker. I represent the EC…I can speak on behalf of the EC. I can create a position before the government....we are a constitutional body. If the government makes a law, we have to obey the law. But we will urgently raise our opinion in the law-making process." About the EC officials’ concern and programme, Director General of Electoral Training Institute SM Asaduzzaman expected that the commission would take all initiatives to ensure that the NID operation is not shifted from the EC. “If so, we will be with the EC,” he said. He said if the NID operation would go from the EC’s jurisdiction, the elections would be under threat. “We have submitted a memorandum (to the CEC) expressing our concerns,” he said. Convener of Bangladesh Election Commission Officers Association Mohammad Monir Hossain said there were several attempts before on several occasions to move the NID services from the EC’s authority. Last time, there was an attempt to shift the NID to under the authority of the home ministry but this time the attempt is to take it under a new commission. “We think that these things are being done for some purposes. We have announced a programme on behalf of the association,” he said. Noting that there has been no problem with the NID operation under the EC’s authority for 17-18 years, the EC official said, "Today, we believe that no such environment has been created, the NID should be taken to somewhere else from the EC.” “We have informed the commission, given time, and expect visible progress by next Wednesday. Otherwise, officials and employees across the country, including the EC Secretariat, will go form human chains from 11 am to 1 pm on March 13. Even then if our demands are not met, we will go on a more stringent programme, including a work abstention," said Monir Hossain. Read Smart NID Card in Bangladesh: Online Application Process, Documents Needed, Fees

The total number of voters in the country now stands at 123,732,274, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin announced on Sunday. The CEC disclosed the updated statistics while inaugurating a vibrant rally in front of Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital, marking National Voter Day 2025. As per tradition, the final updated voter list is published on March 2 every year, coinciding with the observance of National Voter Day. However, this year's voter list updating process, which began on January 20, is still going on. Election Commission extends voter list updating deadline During the event, the CEC reiterated the Election Commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections, seeking cooperation from all stakeholders to achieve this goal.

The Election Commission will no longer provide direct information of a national from its data server while rendering national identity verification services to firms as part of its plan to prevent data leaks to third parties, said Director General of EC’s NID Registration Wing ASM Humayun Kabir on Monday. “When they (firms) will put in information, we’ll tell them whether it is ‘matched’ or ‘unmatched,’ or in other words, ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ They will have no problem in getting NID verification services,” he said. The NID Director General disclosed the decision while talking to reporters at his office in the capital. He said a total of 182 firms now receive the NID verification services from the EC data server. Since 2014, the firms could get some information visible before them for verification purposes, he added. “Since we found some evidence of (NID data) leaks, we closed them,” said Humayun Kabir. The decision came following views-exchange meetings held last week between the EC and the representatives of these firms to determine what to do to prevent information leaks. NID Data Leak: EC finds primary evidence against 5 institutions “We’ve sat in views-exchange meetings separately with 64 banks, government organisations and other organisations in order to protect the valuable (NID) data in a better way in the wake of data leak (to third parties),” said the NID Director General. He said a team will also be formed consisting of the law enforcement members and security related persons to check the systems in the firms as there are directives from the Election Commission to protect the NID data at any cost. He, however, said now the firms can see portraits of a person concerned in the verification process. Talking to his Monday’s meeting with regional election officers, Humayun Kabir said the meeting discussed the progress in settlement of pending applications from NID service seekers. He said they earlier announced to dispose of some 3,78,000 pending applications within three months through a crash programme. So, the meeting was held to discuss the progress of this programme. Injured victims of July uprising get smart NID cards “I think some 50 percent of the pending applications have already been settled. “I’m satisfied with their work so far,” said the NID Director General.