EC orders preparations for National Charter referendum
The Election Commission on Thursday instructed senior officials of relevant ministries and departments to make necessary preparations for a referendum on the July National Charter 2025, to be held at a date announced by the government.
The instruction was given when the EC sat in a views-exchange with top government officials, including secretaries of key ministries, directors general of important agencies on Thursday afternoon.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin presided over the two-hour views-exchange and pre-preparatory meeting held at the Conference Room of the Election Commission Secretariat, aiming to conduct the upcoming national election in a free, participatory and fair manner. Four election commissioners were present in the meeting.
The senior officials were told that the list of polling stations for the 13th national parliamentary election has already been prepared.
If the referendum and the national parliamentary election are held on the same day, the number of polling stations and polling officers will increase. And in that case, the preparations of the ministries and agencies will have to be made keeping that in mind.
And if the referendum and the national parliamentary election are held on separate days, it’ll need a bigger fund to be spent on the two elections. The ministries and agencies must keep their necessary preparations keeping both matters (two elections in a single day or separate days) in mind.
Briefing the reporters, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the meeting discussed preparation of election official panels, installation and renovation of polling stations, ensuring access roads to the polling stations, helicopter services and helipads to carry election materials to remote areas, using Bangladesh Television and Sangsad Television to air election related awareness programmes, providing information about loan defaulters by Bangladesh Bank, budget for election, uninterrupted electricity supply to polling stations during the balloting and the vote count, not keeping public examinations during the election, keeping polling station cluster-based medical teams.
In reply to a question, the EC said the government will decide the time of the referendum.
At least 31 senior officials -- senior secretaries, secretaries and directors general -- from different ministries and agencies including the cabinet division, the ministries of Home Affairs, Public Administration, Shipping and Expatriates’ Welfare and Foreign Affairs, Finance Division, Law and Justice Division, Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Local Government Division, Financial Institutions Division, Power Division, Agriculture Ministry, Secondary and Higher Education, Technical and Madrasa Education, Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Posts and Telecommunications Division, ICT Division, Road Transport and Highways Division, Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, the Directorate of Posts, the Department of Film and Publication; the Civil Aviation Authority; Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), the Department of Educational Engineering; and Credit Information Bureau of Bangladesh Bank were present.
Earlier, on October 20 last, the EC sat in a views-exchange with different law enforcement agencies and intelligences in a bid to conduct the next election in free, participatory and fair manners.
In late September 2025, the Commission opened a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders amid talks with civil society representatives on September 28 last ahead of the next general election to be held in early February 2026.
Then the EC sat in another discussion with the representatives of teachers on the same day.
On October 06, the Commission held two separate dialogues with senior journalists from different media outlets.
The EC also has a plan to sit with other stakeholders, including political parties ahead of the national election.