The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the upcoming national election and referendum any day this week.
The decision was taken in the Commission meeting held on Sunday with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the chair at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
“The election schedule will be declared any day this week,” said Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Replying to a question, he said, “This week means the second week of December from 8-15 December.”
The 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Reform Charter) will be held simultaneously in a single day in early February 2026. White ballot papers will be used for the national election, while pink ballot papers for the referendum.
There are some 12.76 crore voters under 42,761 in the country's 300 constituencies.
About the meeting, Sanaullah said the major agenda for the meeting include the discussion on pre-and post-schedule activities in line with electoral laws and tradition.
He said there are some traditions among the pre-schedule activities like the commission’s meeting with the President and telecasting the speech of the Chief Election Commissioners by Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar.
pre-schedule activities have already been completed,” said the Election Commissioner.
Raising the election preparation, he said the voter lists have been finalised, while the commission has taken decisions over the lists of presiding officers, assistant pressing officers and polling officers.
The officials from the government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous institutions as well as government banks will be in the lists of presiding officers, assistant pressing officers and polling officers, while officials from the private banks will be kept in the reserve lists.
we’re not considering the staff of the private banks in the lists. Rather they will be kept reserved. They will not be engaged except when it is badly necessary,” said Sanaullah.
Ballot Paper Reaching Time
He said the commission has decided to send the electoral materials including ballot papers to the polling stations the night before the balloting day. “The election materials including ballot papers will reach the polling stations the previous night,” Sanaullah said.
In the wake of allegations of balloting-stuffing at the previous night during the 9th general election held in 2018, the commission, headed by Kazi Habibul Awal, sent the ballot papers to the polling stations in the morning, hours before the inception of the balloting in the 2024 general election.
Since this time the national election and referendum will be held simultaneously in a single day, the EC will set up two marking (secret stamping corners) places in each booth of the polling stations if there is enough space, while increasing the number of booths in other polling stations, he said.
The Commission has decided to extend the balloting period by one hour. The balling will start at 7:30am and continue till 4:30pm as every voter will need to cast two votes –one for an MP candidate and another for the referendum, he continued.
About the IT-supported postal balloting system, Sanaullah said there will be two types of postal ballots – one for expatriate Bangladeshi voters and another for the government officials who will be on duty outside their voting areas, the election conducting officials, members of law enforcement agencies including armed forces as well as the people who will be in legal custody (like jails).
He said the commission will start printing the postal ballots for the out-of-country voting on Monday.
The registration of expatriate voters to vote in the next election through the postal ballots will continue till December 25.
As of 7:38pm on Sunday, a total of 232,886 expatriates registered their names in the ‘Postal Vote BD’ app with the highest registered 55,216 Bangladeshis from Saudi Arabia.
In case of In-Country Postal Voting (ICPV), the registration will continue for 15 days starting after the announcement of the election schedule.
To ensure maintaining of the electoral code, he said two magistrates will be in each upazila or thana after the announcement of election schedule and then the number of magistrates would go high for five days – three days before the balloting, the voting day and the day after the election.
About the deployment of security men, Sanaullah said the election commission will issue a circular next week over the deployment of law and order agencies and the Home Ministry will chalk out detailed deployment plans in line with that circular.
He said there will be a center monitoring cell in the EC Secretariat with representatives from all forces. The cell will have capacity to handle misinformation and disinformation.
Replying to a question whether any member of the council of advisers can contest the election without resigning from the post, the Election Commissioner said, “You will see it in time. It is probably not possible.”
In reply to a question whether the Jatiya Party and some other registered political parties who are components of Awami League-led 14-party alliance will be able to participate in the next election, Sanaullah said, “Our position is that those who are permitted by law will participate in the elections.”