EC regains power to pick polling stations

"The Election Commission removed the previous system of using committees to choose the polling centres, as it has found the committees unnecessary."

— Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed

Election Commission officials got back their authority to select polling centres for the next parliamentary election.

Prior to the last general polls in January 2024, this responsibility was delegated to field-level administration and police officials by the then EC.

However, before that election, it was the EC officials who were traditionally responsible for choosing the polling stations.

The guidelines, which were issued in June 2023, for selecting polling centres for the national elections, had a provision of forming a seven-member committee at the district level with the deputy commissioner as its convener to prepare the draft list of polling centres. And a five-member committee at the upazila level with the upazila nirbahi officer as its convener carried out the same responsibility.

The committees were comprised of police officials, local administration officials, and field-level election officials.

The commission finalised the polling stations and issued a gazette notification at least 25 days ahead of the election day.

The current EC on Thursday issued new guidelines for picking polling centres for the upcoming national election, removing the previous system of using committees to make the selection.

Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told The Daily Star yesterday that the commission adopted the guidelines.

"The Election Commission removed the previous system of using committees to choose the polling centres, as it has found the committees unnecessary," he said without any elaboration.

In the last general election, held on January 7, 2024, there were 42,000 polling centresand over 2,60,000 polling booths.

The EC is yet to say anything officially about when the next general polls will be held. But Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on June 13 said the next general election could be held in the week before the start of Ramadan in 2026 if all preparations are completed.

Yunus made the remarks when BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, during a meeting with the chief adviser in London, suggested that the election take place before Ramadan.

According to the new guidelines, a polling centre will be for about 3,000 voters. The distance between two polling centres should not be more than 3km, and those should be set up considering the voters' convenience.

However, the conditions may be relaxed in certain cases, such as in the Chattogram Hill Tracts, islands, remote or hard-to-reach areas, and regions with low population density.

Polling centres cannot be set up in establishments owned by anyone with political affiliations. Priority should be given to setting up centres in government establishments. Besides educational institutions, the centres can be in community centres, cyclone shelters, and other office buildings of government, semi-government, and autonomous organisations.

Meanwhile, the EC on June 17 wrote to four ministries and two directorates to take necessary measures and submit progress reports within a month on minor repairs at educational institutions likely to be used as polling centres.

The letter further said that these institutions should undergo minor renovations using funds from the respective ministries or divisions.