United News of Bangladesh

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. Shujan accuses EC of hurriedly publishing election gazette 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.” Nearly 35% of election candidates have no income tax Records: SHUJAN  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.

Shushaner Janniya Nagorik (Shujan) on Thursday asked the Search Committee constituted for the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners to disclose the list of the 10 final names three days before its submission to the President. It also suggested the Search Committee to disclose who actually proposed which names for the posts of CEC and election commissioners for the sake of transparency Shujan Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder placed the suggestions at an online press conference, said a press release. Also read: Next Election Commission: 322 names proposed to search committee published “The search committee needs to reveal its modus operandi immediately before people for the sake of maintaining its absolute transparency and neutrality,” he said. Dr Majumder, in his written statement, said transparency cannot be ensured if incomplete information is revealed or information was concealed. “The Search Committee needs to disclose the proposers – individuals, political parties and professional bodies—beside the names of initially suggested 322 people (exact 315 names). And it needs to prepare and publish a list of 20-30 persons, including one-third women from the primary list,” he said. Then the Search Committee should prepare the final list of 10 people, including a report, and publish the list and report the people three days before these are sent to the President, said the Shujan Secretary. Also read: Search committee asks political parties to suggest names for CEC, ECs Shujan President M Hafizuddin Khan, its members Dr Shahdeen Malik, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Dr Shahnaz Huda and Robaet Ferdous, among others, spoke at the conference.