Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP on Wednesday demanded the Election Commission to appoint returning officers (ROs) and assistant returning officers (AROs) from the EC’s own staff in the elections to bring a positive change in the country’s politics.

“If you show courage once to take a decision that the returning officers and assistant returning officers would be appointed from the dedicated persons of your election commission, Bangladesh would witness a qualitative change in its politics,” said BNP Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan while leading a three-member BNP delegation in the pre-election dialogue arranged by the Election Commission at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.

The discussion was held with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the chair as part of its ongoing dialogue with registered political parties ahead of the national election to be held in early February 2026.

Besides, several other parties including Gonaodhikar Parishad, Nagorik Oikya and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basad Marxist attended the discussion.

Noting that the country is going through a critical juncture and the EC’s role is vital now, Moyeen Khan urged the Commission to ensure the maximum utilisation of its manpower.

He suggested the EC remain firm to utilise its authority for the sake of a fair election. “The EC must remain firm. The Constitution has given you the authority. There is no reason to be subservient. Religion must not be used for political purposes anywhere.”

Moyeen Khan said the Commission is a constitutionally sanctified body. “All five of you (CEC and four election commissioners) are constitutionally sacrosanct persons. You say you are not subservient to the government,” he said.  

About the compliance with the code of conduct, the BNP leader said following the code is not an issue of debate rather it is an obligation for political parties and candidates. “There is no scope for us to go beyond this code,” he said.

However, Moyeen Khan criticised several sections of the election code, including the provision that requires candidates to give a written commitment to abide by the code. “The more you widen the net of rules and regulations, the more complicated things will become. Keep this thing simple. You need to motivate the people to be law-abiding citizens,” he said.

Two other BNP delegation members are BNP Acting chairman’s adviser Mahdi Amin and EC’s former acting secretary Dr Mohammad Zakaria.

Jamaat demands DCs-SPs-OCs transfer through lottery

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami demanded that the transfer and posting of Deputy Commissioners (DC), Superintendents of Police (SP) and Officers-in-Charge (OC) be carried out through a lottery system during the election period to ensure neutrality in the administration.

“Ensuring neutrality in the administration requires transfers based on lottery. An official whoever gets whichever place by fate will go there. Then there will be no question,” said Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar while leading his party’s three-member delegation.

About the issue of holding referendum on the July national charter, he said the referendum issue did not come in the code of conduct and even the activities of the postal balloting for expatriates, Parwar said the EC must clarify its preparation for conducting a referendum on the July Charter.

He also demanded deployment of the army at polling stations. “It would be better if four or five soldiers, not one soldier, are deployed in each polling station,” he said.

About the electoral code, he demanded the revision of the electoral code, particularly the provision that allows a candidate to use only three loudspeakers or microphones simultaneously in a constituency.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said the EC must be courageous to remain independent, ensuring transparency, neutrality and fairness.

He said special monitoring is needed in coastal and hill areas to recover illegal and legal weapons. “If you fail to ensure public safety and voting rights, all good work will be ruined,” he said.

NCP raises objections to using Tarique Rahman’s photos in campaign

National Citizen Party (NCP) requested the EC to take action if candidates use photos of Tarique Rahman or late president Ziaur Rahman during election campaigns.

“BNP’s chief is Khaleda Zia. If candidates use her photo, we do not object. But they are using Tarique Rahman’s photo. We have objected to this. It is up to the EC how they will control it,” said NCP joint member secretary Zahirul Islam Musa.

He said the EC’s restriction that billboards must be made of cloth is impractical. “The expenditure limit is Tk 50 lakh. A single billboard costs Tk 20 lakh. This creates unfair competition,” he added.

Musa said candidates are allowed to use sound systems within only 60 decibels. “But do you have equipment to measure it? When the election nears, how will you control intimidation by arms and protect candidates? You lack the capacity and intention to implement these laws,” he claimed.

NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary urged the EC to remain firm on the decision allowing parties to contest with their own symbol even under a coalition.

He said the referendum is supposed to be held simultaneously on Election Day, but no preparation of the EC has been seen yet. “So, we are telling the EC to start the referendum process immediately,” Patwary added.

NCP Senior Joint Member Secretary Dr Tasnim Jara urged coordination with Meta and TikTok to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence during the election.

Addressing the morning discussion, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin urged leaders of political parties to motivate the country’s voters to go to the polling stations during national election.

“Over the last 10 to 15 years, our country’s voters have gradually become reluctant to go to the polling centres. You are the national leaders and political leaders. The people at the grassroots are directly influenced by you. I request you to motivate the voters to go to the centres,” he said while addressing a pre-election dialogue at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.

Nasir Uddin said the Election Commission with the help of the political parties and other stakeholders would deliver a good election for the nation.

Speaking at the afternoon session, the CEC said the Election Commission remains committed to playing an impartial role to deliver a fair, neutral and credible election.

“We stay committed to our promise. We’re committed to carry out our responsibility neutrality… So, we need your cooperation to perform neutrality and nicely,” he said.

“We, the government and the Election Commission, all are pledge-bound to deliver a nice, acceptable and neutral election,” said the CEC.

Election Commissioners Tahmida Ahmad, Anwarul Islam Sarker and Brig Gen (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah were present in the discussions moderated by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

The other parties that participated in the Wednesday dialogues include Ganosamhati Andolan, Nationalist Democratic Movement-NDM, Bangladesh Labour Party, Bangladesh Minority Janata Party-BMJP,  Insaniat Biplab Bangladesh in the morning, while Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP, Gonaodhikar Parishad, Nagorik Oikya, Bangladesh Republican Party-BRP and Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal-Basad Marxist in the afternoon.

The Election Commission opened its pre-election dialogue with registered political parties on November 13 last and has already held talks with some 45 parties out of 55 registered parties (excluding the Awami League whose registration remains suspended).

The ongoing dialogue is considered as the last major task before the announcement of the national election schedule in early December.