Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has recommended the appointment of honest, skilled and experienced individuals from the Election Commission's own manpower as returning officers and assistant returning officers beside the administration.
Jamaat presented an 18-point recommendation to the Election Commission on Tuesday, October 28, the party's Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar said after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka's Agargaon area.
“We have presented 18 demands to the CEC to ensure a fair election. They have provided clarifications on what steps are being taken, the challenges they face, technical limitations, and possible measures,” Parwar said.
“They emphasised cooperation from political parties, and we assured them of our full cooperation. But the election must be held in a fair manner,” he said.
“In our 18-point proposal, we have demanded that the referendum must be held before the national election,” he said.
He also urged everyone to rise above individual and party interests and work in the greater interest of the nation to make the upcoming election impartial.
The key recommendations are making the arrangement of referendum in November after the issuance of July Charter implementation order aiming to give the charter a legal basis; maintaining the latest amended provision of 20 no. article of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 (RPO) requiring coalition-backed candidates to contest using their respective party symbols; ensuring 100 per cent neutrality by officials and employees at every level of the Election Commission and the administration; assigning an adequate number of military personnel to all polling centres, installing CCTV cameras in all polling booths, excluding controversial officials who were involved in previous disputed elections from any election duties, and appointing administrative officers (DCs, SPs, UNOs, and OCs) through 100% lottery-based selection
With inputs from BSS
MOS/MSU