Bangladesh voted in a national election without the familiar scene of posters plastered all over the wall, electric poles, footbridges, roadside trees, and public transports. This phenomenon is a first in the history of national elections in the country. The decision of the Election Commission in banning the use of posters, as per the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates, 2025, has imparted a valuable lesson highlighting the importance of urban discipline and responsibility.
Posters would usually occupy public spaces during elections in Bangladesh. Cities, towns or villages would go underneath a blanket of candidate photographs, political symbols, and slogans. Even freshly painted walls would be covered by an assortment of papers and glue. Poles earmarked for traffic signs or electric cables would turn into notice boards. Once the polls closed, they would be left behind as battered, rain-drenched, and partially peeled advertisements.
However, this year the scene was strikingly different. The Election Commission has not only banned the use of posters outright, it has put restrictions on their size, shape, and material of campaign items. Of more interest is that the directive was not restricted to paper. Media reports suggest that the directive was adhered to by candidates across the country. There were no reports of defiance and violation of the directives. Had the Election Commission not intervened, Dhaka and other large cities and towns of the country would have been buried under posters.
The change that we saw because of the Election Commission intervention carries deeper significance for the country, for Dhaka in particular. Dhaka is perhaps one of the few capital cities in the world where indiscriminate poster-sticking has long been treated as normal. Political posters vie for space along with ads for coaching centres, recruitment notice, cultural events, and commercial promotions. All available public and private spaces are exploited. It is common to find a build-up of posters pasted on top of one another, yielding a thick paper-like layer on the cement surface. These practices tarnish the aesthetic appeal of the city.
There is also a question of public space. Walls, footbridges and utility poles are not private property to be claimed at will. They belong to the community. When these elements are used in uncontrolled ways in messaging, the very idea of shared ownership is diminished. The visual clutter undermines the sense of neighbourhood and its pride.
We have other important aspects to consider. Posters contribute a lot to waste. City corporations have to scrape the walls, pull out the glue stuck on them, and try to clean the streets full of paper waste after every election. The environmental implications of this uncontrolled waste are significant, especially when cities are already plagued by pollution and worsening waste management habits.
What is more troubling, however, is the fact that these practices are accepted as a norm. The authorities in charge of the management, cleanliness, and beautification of cities rarely take decisive action against these practices.
The poster ban during this election has demonstrated a simple but hard truth - when the authorities truly want to enforce a rule, they can. The EC's success was not merely administrative; it was psychological. It signalled seriousness. Candidates knew the directive would be monitored. Parties understood that non-compliance could invite consequences. The result was visible discipline.
This raises a question. If a nationwide ban on election posters can be implemented effectively, why cannot a similar restriction be applied round the year to control the broader culture of illegal poster-sticking in Dhaka and other cities?
The lesson is about the culture of governance. So many rules in Bangladesh exist on paper but do not quite work in practice. The EC's implementation shows that compliance is possible if policies are clear, simple, and strictly applied. It defies the fatalistic notion that "nothing will change."
Urban management authorities should take note of it. If a temporary measure in the form of an election regulation can have a significant influence on people's behaviour and bring in a big change, strict penalties for violating rules of illegal postering, consistent policy against it, and running regular clean-up drives must ensure a bigger change and make the cities cleaner.
rahmansrdk@gmail.com
