United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission (EC) has reinstated four parliamentary seats in Bagerhat and five in Gazipur following an Appellate Division order, ahead of the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025, both scheduled for February 12 next year. The Appellate Division on Wednesday upheld a High Court verdict declaring the Election Commission's gazette—reducing the number of parliamentary seats in Bagerhat by one—as illegal. On September 4, the Election Commission finalised the delimitation of 300 constituencies, bringing changes to the boundaries of 46 parliamentary seats in 16 districts. The changes reduced the number of seats in Bagerhat from four to three and increased Gazipur’s seats from five to six. In compliance with the court order, the EC on Thursday night published a revised list of the country’s 300 constituencies. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday announced the schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum simultaneously on February 12, 2026. According the latest demarcation, Bagerhat-1 constituency is comprised of Fakirhat, Mollarhat and Chatalmari Upazilas; Bagerhat-2 is of Bagerhat Sadar and Kachua Upazilas; Bagerhat-3 is of Rampal and Mongla Upazilas; and Bagerhat-4 is of Morrelganj and Sarankhola Upazila. Besides, Gazipur-1 constituency is comprised of Kaliakair Upazila and Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) Ward No. 1-18; Gazipur-2 constituency is of GCC Ward No. 19-39 and 43-57 as well as Gazipur Cantonment Area; Gazipur-3 is of Sreepur Upazila and Mirzapur, Bhaoalgarh and Pirujali Unions of Sadar Upazila; Gazipur-4 constituency is of Kapasia Upazila; and Gazipur-5 constituency is of Kaliganj Upazila, GCC Ward No. 40-42 and Baria Union of Sadar Upazila. According to the election schedule, the deadline for the submission of nomination paper is December 29, while the scrutiny of nomination paper is on December 30-January 4 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is January 20. The election campaign will start on January 22 and continue till 48 hours before the balloting period (7:30am on February 10). The last date for submission of appeal against the decisions of the returning officers is January 11 and the appeals would be disposed of on January 12-18.  The returning officers will publish the final lists of candidates and allocate electoral symbols on January 21. The balloting will be held from 7:30am to 4:30pm without any break on February 12. According to the final voter list published on November 18 last, a total of 12.76 crore (127,695,183 –64,814,907 males, 62,879,042 females and 1,234 third-gender) voters will have the opportunity to vote in more than 42,000 polling stations under the country's 300 constituencies in the 2026 general election and referendum.

For the first time in the country’s parliamentary election history, the Election Commission (EC) appointed three of its own officials, along with two divisional commissioners and 64 district deputy commissioners (DCs), as returning officers for the February 12 election and referendum. According to the EC officials, the Regional Election Officers of Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna have been given the responsibilities of returning officers for specific constituencies in the election. Besides, the divisional commissioners for Dhaka and Chattogram as well the deputy commissioners of 64 districts were made the returning officers in the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025. The Dhaka Regional Election Officer will act as the returning officer for Dhaka-13 and 15 constituencies, while the Chattogram Regional Election Officer for Chattogram-11 and Khulna Regional Election Officer for Khulna-3 constituency. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday announced the election schedule for the national election and referendum. According to the election schedule, the deadline for the submission of nomination paper is December 29, while the scrutiny of nomination paper is on December 30-January 4 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is January 20. The election campaign will start on January 22 and continue till 48 hours before the balloting period (7:30am on February 10). The last date for submission of appeal against the decisions of the returning officers is January 11 and the appeals would be disposed of on January 12-18. The returning officers will publish the final lists of candidates and allocate electoral symbols on January 21. The balloting will be held from 7:30am to 4:30pm without any break on February 12.

The Representation of the People Order (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025 has been promulgated empowering the Electoral Enquiry and Adjudication Committee with jurisdiction and magistracy powers to try summarily some specific electoral offences and criminal offences during the national election. “The Electoral Enquiry and Adjudication Committee shall have the jurisdiction to try summarily the offences under Articles 73, 75, 77 and clause (3) of Article 91B of this Order, and shall have the powers of a Magistrate of the first class to try such offences summarily in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898,” states the Article 91AA of the RPO Ordinance promulgated on Monday. During the parliamentary election, the Election Commission usually forms an electoral enquiry committee for each constituency to ensure the prevention and control of pre-poll irregularities, but such committee had no jurisdiction and magistracy power to try summarily some specific electoral offences and criminal offences. The committee used to send its inquiry reports to the Election Commission and could place recommendations before the commission. Mandatory Support for Committee As per the latest RPO, the Returning Officer, the Assistant Returning Officer, District Superintendent of Police, Police Commissioner, Inspector of Police or any police officer in charge of a station must provide all necessary assistance as may be required by the committee. “District Superintendent of Police, Police Commissioner, Inspector of Police or any police officer in charge of a station and the commander or any officer in-charge of any force engaged in election duty, shall provide striking force and render such other assistance as may be required by the Committee for the due discharge of its functions under this Order; and if any of the aforesaid persons fails, refuses, or neglects to comply, without any reasonable cause, he may be deemed to be guilty of inefficiency or misconduct,” it states. “The Returning Officer and the Assistant Returning Officer shall provide all necessary assistance as may be required by the Committee for the due discharge of its functions under this Order,” it also states. The same article also states that the Electoral Enquiry and Adjudication Committee shall also have power to take cognizance of other offences under this Order, not being offences mentioned in Article 89A; and, upon taking cognizance, shall forward the case to the competent Court having jurisdiction for trial in accordance with law. About the committee, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told media on Tuesday evening that the Electoral Inquiry Committee and Adjudication Committee will have authority to try electoral offences and also criminal offences this time. He said the committee will not only conduct enquiry but also try electoral and criminal offences. The committees will start working after the announcement of the election schedule and will continue till the election is over.

The Election Commission (EC) has launched an IT-supported hybrid postal ballot system to enable both out-of-country and in-country postal voting ahead of the national election and referendum scheduled for early February 2026. Officials have warned that postal ballots could be rejected for six specific reasons, underscoring the importance of following the voting guidelines carefully. The EC on November 19 opened the ‘Postal Vote Bd’ app initially for 53 countries and then for a total of 143 countries. More than 280,000 expatriates so far registered through the app till Tuesday evening. Besides, the ICPV (In-Country Postal Voting) registration process for the government staff on duty outside their voting places, polling personnel, and the persons under the legal custody (jails) will start after the announcement of election schedule and continue for 15 days. But a postal ballot paper will not be counted on six reasons in line with the Article 27 of the Representation of the People Order (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which was promulgated on Monday, incorporating several provisions related to the postal balloting system. “A postal ballot paper issued under this Article shall be excluded from the count in favour of any contesting candidate if: (a) no tick or cross mark is placed against any symbol; or (b) a tick or cross mark is placed against more than one symbol; or (c) a tick or cross mark is so placed that it cannot reasonably be ascertained for which candidate the vote has been cast; or (d) the postal ballot is not received by the Returning Officer before the count under Article 37A; or (e) any change in the list of candidates of a particular constituency or constituencies is made by any court at relevant time; or (f) no declaration is made by the voter,” said the article of revised RPO. According to the amended RPO, the office of the Returning Officer shall, for each constituency, be deemed to be a polling station solely for the purpose of counting all postal ballots duly received by the Returning Officer up to the official closing time of the poll. It also states that the Returning Officer shall appoint a Presiding Officer and such number of Polling Officers as he may deem necessary to conduct the counting of postal ballots. And the Presiding Officer shall, in the presence of the contesting candidates or their election agents or polling agents, open the postal ballot envelopes and count the votes cast in favour of each contesting candidate in such manner and in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the Commission. Upon completion of the counting of all postal ballots, the Presiding Officer shall prepare a duly authenticated statement of the postal ballot count in the prescribed form and shall submit the same to the Returning Officer without delay, said the Article 37A of the RPO. The Returning Officer shall incorporate the postal ballot count, as submitted by the Presiding Officer, into the consolidated result of the constituency, as per the article. As of 7:15pm on Tuesday, a total of 280,267 expatriates registered from different countries to vote in the 2026 election. Among the registrants, the highest number came from the Saudi Arabia (76,758) followed by USA (20,360), Qatar (20,185), UAE (17,486), Malaysia (15,877), Singapore (14,383), UK (12,871), Oman (10,168), Canada (9,659) and South Korea (9,580). Among the registered expats, the highest 32,294 will vote in Dhaka district from abroad, while 30,664 in Cumilla, 23,939 in Chattogram, 18,079 in Noakhali and 14,982 in Sylhet. In terms of constituencies, the highest 4,763 registered expats will vote in Noakhali-1, while 4,599 in Feni-3 constituency, 4,357 in Sylhet-1 constituency, 4,323 in Chattogram-15 constituency and 4,128 in Noakhali-3 constituency. The Commission will announce the election schedule in the current week to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Reform Charter) simultaneously in a single day in early February 2026. There are some 12.76 crore voters under 42,761 polling stations in the country's 300 constituencies.

As the Election Commission gears up its preparations for folding the national election, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud on Tuesday said the Commission is not barring any registered political party from participating in the polls. “Those who are allowed in line with the laws, they can submit (nomination papers) to the Election Commission. And the returning officers will scrutinize these. Usually we’ve not barred anyone,” he said, replying to a question whether all registered political parties will be allowed to join the upcoming polls. Rahmanel Masud made the remark while talking to reporters at his office in the city's Nirbachan Bhaban. He, however, confirmed that the ‘boat’, the electoral symbol of Bangladesh Awami League whose registered remains suspended, will not be in the ballot papers. The Election Commissioner said the law and order situation will gradually improve after the election schedule is announced. He said the matter of ensuring the level-playing field will fall under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission. He said the polls schedule will be announced, while telecasting Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin’s speech by Bangladesh Television and Betar. Rahmanel Masud said no preparatory work remains unfinished to declare the election schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and referendum to be held in early February 2026. Both the Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar have already asked to record the CEC’s Speech on Wednesday. The Election Commission earlier said the election schedule would be announced by this week. Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin met Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming election. The CEC and four election commissioners are also scheduled to go to Bangabhaban to meet the President on Wednesday.

More than 258,000 expatriate Bangladeshi voters from different countries across the world have so far registered through a mobile app, ‘Postal Vote Bd’, since November 19 last to vote in the upcoming national election and the referendum. The Election Commission (EC) on November 19 opened the ‘Postal Vote Bd’ app initially for 53 countries and then for a total of 143 countries. As of 7:50 pm on Monday, a total of 258,485 expatriates, including 236,998 males and 21,487 females, registered through the app. Among the registrants, the highest number came from the Saudi Arabia (66,505) followed by USA (20,102), Qatar (17,124), UAE (15,774), Malaysia (14,457), Singapore (13,673), UK (12,202), Oman (9,706), South Korea (9,560), Canada (9,516), Italy (8,710), Australia (8,094), Japan (7,008), Kuwait (5,971) and South Africa (4,879). Among the registered expats, the highest 30,866 will vote in Dhaka district from abroad, while 27,771 in Cumilla, 21,760 in Chattogram, 16,670 in Noakhali, 14,024 in Sylhet, 10,311 in Chandpur, 10,005 in Feni, 8,657 in Brahmanbaria, 8,064 in Lakshmipur and 6,415 in Moulvibazar. In terms of constituencies, the highest 4,447 registered expats will vote in Noakhali-1, while 4,195 in Feni-3 constituency, 4,153 in Sylhet-1 constituency, 3,810 in Noakhali-3 constituency, 3,796 in Chattogram-15 constituency, 3,583 in Cumilla-10 constituency, 3,421 in Noakhali-5, 3,413 in Feni-2 constituency, 3,409 in Cumilla-11 constituency, 3,332 in Sylhet-6 constituency.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said on Wednesday that each voter would take three minutes and 52 seconds on average to cast their votes in the upcoming election and referendum. He, however, rejected the feasibility of increasing polling centres for the next election. Sanaullah made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of a daylong journalist training programme at Agargaon of Dhaka ahead of the national election. Highlighting the importance of the election, he said, “The upcoming election is going to set the tone for what kind of country and democratic journey we want in the future.”   Seeking cooperation from all to hold an acceptable election, Sanaullah said the election system has been heavily damaged and they are trying to repair it. For the nation’s sake, all must ensure a good election and everyone must responsibly play their part, he said. To prevent fake journalists from entering polling areas with bogus cards, the election commission is going to initiate a QR‑code system, he asserted.  

The Election Commission (EC) is planning to set up two secret stamping places instead of one inside each polling booth to ensure smooth voter flow during the next parliamentary election and the referendum, both to be held simultaneously in a single day in February next. The move comes as the Commission anticipates that voters will require more time to cast their ballots since they will vote both in the national election and the referendum. “In one booth we initially calculated for one stamping place. Now we plan to install two (stamping places) so that the flow of voters remains uninterrupted,” said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed while briefing reporters after a high-level meeting with  concerned top government officials at Nirbachan Bhaban on Sunday. The two-hour meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, was attended by senior representatives, including secretaries, directors general and chairmen from more than 30 relevant ministries, divisions and state bodies. The discussion focused on 22 major issues related to the upcoming national election and referendum. The EC Secretary said the number of polling stations won’t be required based on the assessment of data of the mock voting exercise conducted on Saturday. “A question came up whether we need additional polling stations. From the preliminary data collected during yesterday's mock voting, we saw that if we set up two secret stamping places inside each booth, we won’t need to increase the number of polling stations,” he said. Replying to a question whether the issue of having two secret stamping places in each booth was in practice in the past, he said, “I have not voted for the last 15 years (during the Awami League’s regime). I cannot say,” he said. Election of Century Focusing on the scale of the upcoming polls, the EC Secretary said, “It will be the largest election in 2026.” Noting that the Chief Adviser recently described it as ‘an election of the century’, he said several fundamental aspects require special attention—holding both a national election and a referendum together for the first time, bringing expatriate Bangladeshis under out-of-country voting, printing ballot papers in advance for the expatriates and ensuring real-time communication across the system. Raising Allowances   The Election Commission considers increasing the amount of allowance and the financial benefits for the election officers to prevent them from accepting the hospitality from local influential persons during their election duties. Akhtar Ahmed stressed that polling officials must not accept hospitality from local influential persons under any circumstances. “We repeatedly hear that election officials often accept hospitality from influential local figures on different occasions. We said this must not happen under any circumstance.  The main thing we have done is to increase their allowance and consider providing some additional financial benefits for discharging their election duties so that they don’t become dependent on others,” he said. Expat Voters The EC senior secretary said the temporary suspension of out-of-country voter (OCV) registration in several countries has now been lifted after fixing technical inconsistencies, especially the mismatch between submitted information and the required format. The seven countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said an edit mode has been added to the Postal Vote BD app, which has already been downloaded over 210,000 times, with nearly 100,000 expatriates successfully registering so far. He said the EC has already requested the state-owned BTV and Sangsad TV to carry out an extensive campaign – national election, out-of-country voting (OCV) and referendum. Akhtar Ahmed also requested the private television channels and the relatives and friends of expatriates to encourage expatriates to complete their registration and vote in the 2026 election. About the postal ballots inside the country, he said three categories of voters are eligible to vote by postal ballot inside Bangladesh: government officials on duty, those who will be engaged in election duty, and detainees under lawful custody including prisons. But the in-country postal voting (ICPV) app is not yet launched, he added. He said all relevant ministries have been asked to nominate a contact point for emergency coordination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assign contact persons in mission offices abroad, and the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry has been asked to sensitize labour councillors to motivate expatriates. During the meeting, it was informed that the Home Ministry would act as the lead agency for election-time security, and the government agencies concerned have been instructed to prioritize awareness on referendum campaigning, OCV registration, conduct rules, prevention of misuse of artificial intelligence, and voter education. Akhtar Ahmed said voter turnout is closely linked to voter education, and campaign activities will gradually expand up to the union level with support from the Information Ministry. He said installing two secret stamping centers in each polling booth—especially because voters must read and stamp on four referendum questions—may require additional budgetary allocation. “We will elaborate on these matters later,” he added. Among the 22 issues discussed in the meeting were the repair and renovation of access roads and physical structures of polling stations and booths; preparation of panels of polling officers; uninterrupted electricity supply for polling activities; removal of existing campaign materials from electoral areas; preparation of action plans for collection and compilation of loan-default information; manpower, transport and logistical support; steps by local administration and local government bodies to ensure law and order; review of academic and public examination schedules; strategies to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media using AI tools; and ensuring communal harmony and the security of minority communities. Other issues included assistance in appointing election observers; arrangements for transporting electoral materials and polling officials in remote and hilly regions, including providing helicopters for the Commission; measures to carry out election-related publicity, awareness and motivation through media; budget allocation and related financial activities; appointment of executive magistrates to enforce the electoral code of conduct; daily weather updates; formation of medical teams and health service arrangements; immediate fire and disaster management measures; restrictions on vehicular and water transport during the election period; support for postal voting and management of postal ballots; and balloting arrangements for people behind legal bars, including prisoners and detainees. Earlier, on October 30, the Commission held a similar meeting with senior officials from 31 ministries, divisions and agencies. On November 27, the EC held a second-phase meeting with law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, as part of its efforts to finalise the deployment strategy for security personnel during the upcoming national election and referendum. The first such security meeting took place on October 20 to ensure a free, fair and participatory 13th parliamentary election. Earlier, the Election held dialogues with 47 registered political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and National Citizen Party-NCP on November 13, 16, 17 and 19 last. In late September 2025, the Commission opened a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders amid talks with civil society representatives on September 28. Later, the EC held separate dialogues with 47 registered political parties, including BNP, Jamaat and NCP, as well as the representatives of teachers, senior journalists from different media outlets, election experts and election observers. The Election Commission will announce the schedule in the second week of December for holding the next general election and referendum on the July National Charter in a single day in early February 2026.

Nearly 87,000 expatriate Bangladeshi voters from different countries across the world have so far registered through a mobile app, ‘Postal Vote Bd’, in the past 10 days to vote in the upcoming national election and the referendum. The Election Commission (EC) on November 19 opened the ‘Postal Vote Bd’ app initially for 53 countries and then for a total of 143 countries. But on November 27, the EC suspended the registration process for the expatriates living in seven countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after many applicants input incorrect or incomplete mailing addresses. As of 7:10 pm on Saturday, a total of 86,844 expatriates—72,938 males and 13,906 females—had registered through the app. Among the registrants, the highest number came from the USA (16,835), followed by South Korea (9,275), Canada (8,027), Australia (7,102), Japan (6,712), Singapore (6,058), the UK (4,721), South Africa (4,667), Italy (3,441), Maldives (2,279), China (1,831), France (1,735), Portugal (1,674) and 1,674 (Germany). Among the registered expats, the highest 17,961 will vote in Dhaka district from abroad, while 6,582 in Cumilla, 6,044 in Sylhet, 5,320 in Noakhali, 5,036 in Chattogram, 2,500 in Munshiganj, 2,469 in Feni, 2,149 in Chandpur, 2,118 in Moulvibazar and 1,987 in Brahmanbaria district. In terms of constituencies, the highest 2,226 registered expats will vote in Sylhet-1, while 1,820 in Dhaka-18, 1,812 in Noakhali-1, 1,559 in Sylhet-6, and 1,558 in Dhaka-10 constituency. The expatriate registration process for expatriates will continue till December 18 next. Besides, the app will remain open for the government officials, polling personnel, prisoners under lawful custody from December 19 to 25. Though the postal balloting system has been in the laws for a long time, it was never practiced in the previous elections. This is the first time the Election Commission is introducing a hybrid postal balloting system, enabling expatriates, government staff, polling personnel and inmates to exercise their franchise through a combination of digital registration and manual voting. The EC aims to facilitate voting for approximately 5 million expatriate Bangladeshis living in 143 countries through this IT-supported postal voting mechanism. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday said the Election Commission will announce the schedule for the next general election in the second week of December. “Hopefully, what we expect is that it will be declared in the second week of December. When the schedule is announced, then you will know the dates (voting date, nomination deadline and the last date for withdrawal of candidacy),” he said, replying to a question from reporters. The CEC was talking to reporters after inspecting a mock voting exercise demonstrated at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls High School in the capital.

The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that the NID correction and voting address transfer services remain halted, but all other NID-related services will continue as usual ahead of the upcoming national election. "We have temporarily stopped the NID correction process to prepare the final voter lists. However, all other activities will continue,” said Director General of the EC’s National Identity Registration Wing ASM Humayun Kabir on Tuesday. He, however, said the Commission will accept the correction applications, complete the file works and make decisions over the applications. “We will approve these applications as soon as the election is over." A related letter signed by EC’s Senior Assistant Secretary Nasir Uddin Chowdhury stated the Election Commission has given directive to its officials concerned to include the registered voters in the database by completing all processes in a bid to prepare the finalise the electoral rolls on the occasion of the 13th National Parliamentary Election. Besides, the registration process of eligible citizens applying for national identity cards within the country will continue as before by the registration officers. “At the same time, the EC has also issued instructions to halt all types of corrections in the voter lists and national identity cards and voter transfer activities due to change of residence or other reasons until the completion of the 13th parliamentary election,” says the letter. According to the Election Commission, Bangladesh currently has a total of 127,695,183 registered voters. Among them, 64,814,907 are men, 62,879,042 are women, and 1,234 are third-gender voters.