'Level playing field in place,' EC official tells ahead of Feb 12 election

Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed today said a “level playing field” is in place ahead of the February 12 national parliamentary election and referendum.

Akhtar made the remarks in the afternoon during a press briefing with reporters at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.

Asked whether a level playing field exists in the election, Akhtar replied, "Of course it does. The very fact that candidates can lodge complaints and run campaigns shows that a level playing field exists. If it didn't, what would have happened?"

Regarding discussions held yesterday between the EC and diplomats, embassies, and international organisations in Dhaka, Akhtar said, "We briefed them on the current situation, the electoral system, and the February 12 election. There were 41 mission heads present, 12 representatives from UN agencies, and government officials as well."

He noted that diplomats mainly wanted to know about two issues—security arrangements and command structure. On security, Ahmed explained, "We gave specific details about the police, army, air force, navy, Rab, and Ansar—numbers and deployment locations."

He added that diplomats were informed that police will have body-worn cameras at 25,000 to 30,000 polling centres.

On the question of how long results would take, Akhtar said, "Results from polling centres will be available on time—within three to three-and-a-half or four hours, depending on the number of votes cast. However, counting will take longer at centres handling expatriate votes, because there are two types of ballots—one for expatriates and one for domestic voters. Domestic ballots differ, and returning officers must visually scan 119 symbols."

On the command structure, Akhtar said that Election Commissioner Brigadier General Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah told diplomats, "Each force will maintain its own command structure, but overall coordination will be ensured. Nobody is going to overpower anybody."

Asked whether the EC was indifferent to violations of the electoral code of conduct, Akhtar said it was not. “There may be a communication gap — between filing complaints with the Election Commission and with the Electoral Inquiry and Adjudication Committees, there is a time difference,” he added.

He explained that complaints about violations should be submitted to the Electoral Inquiry and Adjudication Committees in the 300 constituencies, with a copy to the EC. "We follow up on these. You may wonder if we are doing anything—it's just not always visible."

On violations abroad, Akhtar said, "If someone violates the code of conduct overseas, that is a personal matter."

He further stated that counting for the referendum and parliamentary election will be done concurrently. "We will make every effort to complete it as quickly as possible."

Akhtar announced that distribution of in-country postal ballots began today. These ballots will be issued to three categories of voters — government employees, officials assigned to election duties, and registered voters.

He clarified that ballots posted by expatriates after returning to Bangladesh will not be counted. “Expatriate voters must be geo-tracked, and their ballots must pass through our designated mail processing centres — one at the airport and another routed through the Tejgaon post office,” he said.

To expatriates, he said, "From the time symbols are allocated, you may begin voting, continue voting, and do so as quickly as possible."