Editors and senior journalists from different media outlets yesterday recommended increasing women's seats in parliament, electing representatives to those seats through direct vote, and punishing those responsible for irregularities in the last three national elections.

They made these recommendations during a views-exchange meeting with the Election Reform Commission, held at the Election Commission building.

After the meeting, the commission's Chairperson Badiul Alam Majumder expressed satisfaction with the recommendations, saying they align with the commission's priorities.

"These [the commission's priorities] include direct elections for women's seats, conducting local government polls before national elections, reinstating a caretaker government, and ensuring voting rights for expatriates."

Senior journalist Masud Kamal suggested holding local government elections under a caretaker government and using National ID cards as voter cards.

"This would streamline the voting process, enabling those who turn 18 after the voter list is prepared to cast their votes without being excluded."

Ajker Patrika Editor Prof Golam Rahman called for guaranteed media access during all stages of the election process.

"To ensure voting rights for expatriates, early preparations are necessary, including amending and updating laws. What we've seen in the past was the influence of ruling parties on elections, which should be eliminated."

He considered proportional representation impractical at this time, saying that meaningful change must originate from within the parliament to be effective.

The Daily Star Bangla Editor Golam Mortoza proposed direct elections for the reserved seats for women in parliament.

Recommending punishment to those responsible for irregularities in the past three polls, he said, "The reform commission should ask the previous election commissions, under which the 2014, 2018, and 2024 elections were held, on whose orders they conducted such elections."

He also urged the commission to enact laws to establish internal democracy within political parties and stressed the importance of ensuring that every citizen has the right to choose their preferred candidate.

Mortoza further proposed increasing the reserved seats for women to 100 from 50 and suggested that political parties nominate their candidates for national polls.

Prothom Alo Joint Editor Sohrab Hossain said representatives should not contest elections in areas they do not live in, as this deprives locals of proper representation.

He suggested eliminating financial influence in polls by introducing state-funded election campaigns.

About women's seats, he too proposed direct elections.

He also emphasised the need for ensuring every citizen's ability to choose their preferred candidate.

Dainik Protidiner Bangladesh Editor Mostafiz Shafi strongly advocated reinstating the caretaker government system, saying that it could address 80 percent of the challenges posed by partisan governments during elections.

He called for constitutional reform proposals to be presented to both the government and the media to ensure accountability.

Shafi also emphasised ensuring voting rights for expatriates and providing advanced voting facilities for media personnel and election officials.

Regarding a rotational voting system for women's seats, Badiul Alam Majumder said women would directly contest in 100 seats, raising the total number of parliamentary seats to 400.

"These 100 seats would rotate across constituencies over four election cycles, with women competing alongside men for other seats."

He cited similar systems in local government polls in West Bengal and Kerala, where women's participation has been significantly higher.

The commission also plans to recommend internationally recognised guidelines for demarcating parliamentary constituencies to ensure fair representation, he added.