Election Commissioner Brig. Gen. (Retd.) Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah. Photo: Collected

DHAKA, Aug 7, 2025 (BSS) - The schedule for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election will be announced in the first half of December, said Election Commissioner Brig. Gen. Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah (Retd.).

He said this while responding to questions from journalists after the ninth meeting of the commission held at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon.

“According to the deadline already mentioned by the Chief Election Commissioner, the schedule will be announced approximately two months prior to election. Accordingly, it is expected that the schedule will be announced in the first half of December,” said Sanaullah. 

He said the letter from the Chief Adviser was not discussed in today’s meeting. However, it will be taken up for discussion in the commission soon, he said adding other activities are being taken up in due course.

Sanaullah said that the final approval has been given to the Draft of the Code of Conduct 2025 prepared for political parties and candidates which was published online and public opinion was collected on it. 

In the light of public opinion, the final approval has been given in today’s meeting after making necessary amendments, he said.

He said in this election, the postal ballot system will be implemented to ensure the voting rights of expatriate Bangladeshis living outside the country. 
Ballots with election symbols will be prepared and sent to the expatriates and they can vote on that ballot and send it to the commission as per the prescribed rules, he said.

Sanaullah said although there was an opportunity for the postal ballot system in the past, it could not be implemented due to time and procedural complications. 

This time, the Election Commission is making preparations in advance and for this, a registration process will be launched for expatriates, which will start before the announcement of the schedule, he said, adding this registration will continue for approximately three weeks.

In addition, the opportunity to vote by postal ballot will be provided in the same manner to government employees, election officials and prisoners in custody, he said. 

The election commissioner said online registration will be launched for them and necessary ballot papers will be provided.
 
He said 'out-of-country' and 'in-country' voting based on postal ballots were discussed in detail in the meeting. 

At the same time, discussions have also started on amending the RPO, which will continue in the coming weeks, he said.

He said the Election Commission has decided to form an ad hoc management committee to make the voting process effective, coordinated and smooth. 

This committee, headed by the Additional Secretary, will have representatives from the relevant ministries, divisions and departments of the government, he said.

He said awareness programmes related to voting and voter education programmes will be started for expatriate voters from September. 

Through this programme, initiatives will be taken to increase the importance of voting and participation among expatriates step by step, he said.

Highlighting the financial aspects of the postal ballot process, Sanaullah said that it will cost approximately Tk 500 to send a single postal ballot.

He said earlier the postal department had said that each ballot would cost Tk 700, but later it was reduced to Tk 500 through negotiations. This is just the cost of sending the ballot, he added.

Sanaullah said printing and other related expenses would also be included in this category. According to the calculation, if printing and other expenses are taken into account for every one lakh voters, an estimated Tk 6 cr to Taka 7cr  will be required, he added.

He said that the Election Commission is also keeping an eye on saving costs as much as possible so that this process can be implemented while maintaining transparency.