The Election Commission is set to brief all political parties today on the postal voting process amid allegations by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of bias in postal ballots and a two-day protest by BNP student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal outside the EC headquarters.
In a letter issued on Monday, the EC invited political parties to attend the briefing, which would outline the procedures about and provide updated information on postal voting through the Postal Vote BD app.
Recently, the BNP and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami claimed that the Election Commission was favouring a particular party.
At the same time, the National Citizen Party alleged that the commission issued one-sided rulings in favour of the BNP during hearings on nomination-related appeals.
Amid accusations from major political parties that the Election Commission is biased, the commission has organised the briefing for all parties.
Although the Election Commission’s letter stated that the briefing would provide updated information on postal voting, political leaders said that they would voice their concerns and criticisms regarding the commission’s role during the session.
According to the EC, the referendum and the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election would be held on February 12. The scrutiny of nomination papers of contesting candidates and the hearing of appeals have already been completed.
It said that election symbols would be allocated on January 21, while election campaigning would begin on January 22.
The EC said that registered voters, both at home and abroad, would be able to start casting their votes through the Postal Vote BD app once symbols are allocated.
The briefing is aimed at ensuring clarity about and transparency of the related voting activities and the latest updates, the EC letter said.
The commission requested that each of the political parties taking part in the election send two representatives with technical knowledge of postal voting.
In the case of independent candidates, the EC said, the candidate may attend personally or nominate a suitably qualified representative with technical expertise in postal voting.
The briefing would take place at the EC auditorium from 4:00pm to 5:30pm.
Meanwhile, BNP student wing Chhatra Dal staged a sit-in programme for the second day in front of the EC headquarters on Monday, questioning the commission’s neutrality ahead of the general polls.
The sit-in programme rolled into the second consecutive day for pressing their three demands.
The demands include stopping the ‘manipulation of expatriate postal ballots’, cancelling the unprecedented EC gazette notification to hold Shahjalal University of Science and Technology students’ union polls before the general polls under pressure from a student body of a particular political party, and refraining from partisan activities of the commission under pressure from the specific political party.
Several thousand leaders and activists blocked roads near the EC building demanding free, fair and credible elections.
They started the road block at about 11:00am and withdrew the protests at about 5:00om after getting assurance that their demands would be addressed.
On Sunday, they held a sit-in programme from 10:00am to 8:00pm and withdrew the blockade after getting assurance from the EC that their demands would be accepted.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, the police, the Border Guard Bangladesh and other law enforcement agencies were seen in guard with barricade on adjacent roads to the EC.
Asked about the distrust in the EC’s neutrality, commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker said that major parties, including the BNP, Jamaat, and NCP, had raised questions about the commission’s neutrality, which meant that the commission was heading in the right direction.
