DHAKA, July 11, 2025 (BSS) – The Election Commission (EC) is moving forward with full swing preparations to hold the 13th parliamentary elections on time.

To this end, the commission has started pre-election preparatory work to take the upcoming parliamentary elections to an acceptable level.

Meanwhile, the commission in its eighth meeting on Thursday took several important decisions to speed up necessary preparations ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election.

Observing the last 15 days activities of the commission, a clear impression has been created among the general officers and employees of the commission and the general public that the commission is taking preparations to create a credible atmosphere in the electoral field as soon as the election announcement is made.

Talking to BSS, commission officials mentioned that the EC has undertaken the programmes with a firm determination to eliminate the crisis of trust that arose among the political parties over the past elections.

After the commission meeting, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said that Bangladeshis living abroad will be able to cast their votes through postal ballots in the upcoming parliamentary elections.  

The commission has calculated that if the expatriates cast the postal votes through the government post office, it will cost Tk 700 per ballot and if they cast votes at courier services like DHL, it may cost up to Tk 5,000 per ballot, he added. 

He said the commission will discuss the issue further with the IT department to decide its future course of action.

The election commissioner said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) will not be used in the parliamentary or local government elections. 

Election Commission officials informed that the commission is moving forward with various plans to prepare the officials, especially those who are related to the election. 

Overall, it can be assumed that the bells for the 13th National Parliamentary elections have begun to ring.

On Wednesday, the Election Commission formed five important committees under separate office orders, as part of its preparation for the election. 

The five separate seven-member coordination committees are headed by different election commissioners.

The committees are ‘monitoring committee for the preparation of polling officer panels and training programmes’; ‘committee for law and order coordination and monitoring’; ‘committee for coordination with the field administration over the electoral activities’; ‘monitoring and coordination committee for electoral laws, rules, policies and the activities of the electoral inquiry bodies’ and ‘coordination committee over Out of Country Voting (OCV) and Local and Foreign Observer’.

Election Commissioner Tahmida Ahmad is leading the monitoring committee for the preparation of polling officer panels and training programmes. Committee’s members include the EC’s NID Registration Wing director general, two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah is also leading the committee for law and order coordination and monitoring during the election. The project director of the EC’s IDEA Project (Phase-II), two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary are also made members of the committee.

Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker is heading the committee for coordination with the field administration over the electoral activities. EC’s NID Registration Wing Director General, two joint secretaries and a deputy secretary are also on the committee.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud is leading the monitoring and coordination committee for electoral laws, rules, policies and the activities of the electoral inquiry bodies. Other members include two joint secretaries and two deputy secretaries.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah is the chairman of another coordination committee over Out of Country Voting (OCV) and Local and Foreign Observers. Committee members also include a joint secretary, a deputy secretary, the public relations director and the ICT system manager.