Dhaka: Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Monday urged candidates to submit complaints of electoral code of conduct violations to the 300 designated electoral enquiry and adjudication committees, rather than approaching the commission directly. “I am telling you again, inform the electoral inquiry and adjudication committees, and give us a copy. I will follow it. But if you tell me to go around and look, then it will be a miscarriage of justice to me,” Ahmed stated during a briefing for reporters at the city’s Nirbachan Bhaban.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the EC Secretary emphasized the importance of addressing electoral code violation issues with returning officers and the electoral enquiry and adjudication committees. He reiterated the Election Commission’s belief in the existence of a level playing field in the election process, asserting, “There is definitely a level playing field.”
In a related development, the EC Secretary announced the commencement of in-country postal ballot distribution for three categories of voters: government employees, officials engaged in election duties, and prisoners who registered for postal voting in the 13th parliamentary election. A total of 761,142 voters are set to participate via postal ballots in the elections scheduled for February 12. This includes 575,200 government employees working outside their constituencies, 169,643 election duty officials, 10,010 Ansar and VDP members, and 6,285 prisoners.
Ahmed also highlighted the Election Commission’s briefing for foreign diplomats held on Sunday, where updates on election preparations were shared. A total of 41 representatives, including ambassadors and heads of missions, attended the session. The diplomats expressed particular interest in the security arrangements, command structure, and the timeline for announcing election results. The Commission provided detailed information regarding the deployment of law enforcement agencies, including police, army, navy, air force, RAB, and Ansar forces during the election. Additionally, it was noted that 25,000-30,000 police personnel would be equipped with body-worn cameras at polling stations.