Preparations for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election are now 90 to 95 percent complete, according to Senior Secretary of the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed.
He made the remarks on Monday (October 27) while speaking to reporters in front of his office at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.
“In percentage terms, I can say we are now 90 to 95 percent ready,” the EC Secretary said. “Once the registration process of political parties and observer organizations is completed this week, preparations will reach 100 percent.”
He added that the commission’s progress has been “slightly slow” in two areas — registration of political parties and observer organizations. “We have initially shortlisted 22 political parties. Additional field-level information has been collected about them. Hopefully, we’ll complete this process within this week,” he said.
Regarding observer organizations, Akhtar Ahmed mentioned that reviews of domestic groups are ongoing and that some data gaps identified by journalists have already been filled.
On the issue of RPO (Representation of the People Order) amendments, he said, “The matter is currently with the Ministry of Law, and the Commission will decide later. Before drafting the amendment, the EC held extensive discussions with political parties, and no conflicting issues have emerged.”
He explained that the proposed amendments were prepared based on five key considerations:
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Proposals that ensure transparency and acceptability,
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Proposals needing minor linguistic or numerical adjustments,
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Issues that require political consensus,
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Provisions already covered by existing law, and
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Amendments deemed appropriate by the Commission itself.
“These five factors were considered before the proposal was sent to the Advisory Council, which has given its policy approval,” he added.
Regarding the NCP’s (National Citizens Party) election symbol issue, Akhtar Ahmed said, “The Commission has already clarified its position, and no alternative proposal has been submitted so far. The Commission will allocate a symbol in consultation, as per its previous decision.