Additional Tk1,070cr allocated for national election

The government has approved an additional Tk1,070 crore for the Election Commission in the fiscal year 2025–26 to organise the upcoming national parliamentary election.

TBS Highlights

The funds were released recently by the Ministry of Finance for the commission, according to ministry sources.

A senior official at the Ministry of Finance, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard that the original budget for the current fiscal year had included provisions for holding the national parliamentary election in early 2026.

However, the official said the election will now be held alongside a referendum, increasing overall costs. Arrangements have also been made to allow expatriates, election officials on duty and prisoners to vote by post.

The official said additional expenses are being incurred to send postal ballots to voters abroad and to collect them. Costs have also increased for publicity, training, printing, fuel and various allowances linked to the election.

Citing these reasons, the Election Commission sought extra funds, and the government approved the additional allocation. The commission has also been assured that further funds will be provided if needed.

According to the budget approval and allocation report, the Election Commission has been allocated a total of Tk2,956 crore in the fiscal year 2025–26.

Of the total, Tk2,727 crore has been set aside for operating expenses, while Tk229 crore has been allocated for development work.

Ministry of Finance sources said Tk2,080 crore of the commission's operating budget was earmarked for organising the national election, while the remaining Tk647 crore was allocated for regular operating costs. In the fiscal year 2024–25, the commission's regular operating budget stood at Tk716 crore.

With the government approving an additional Tk1,070 crore for election-related expenses, the total allocation for organising the national election has now risen to Tk3,150 crore.

Ahead of the 2024 national election, the then government had allocated Tk4,168 crore for the Election Commission in the fiscal year 2023–24 budget. Of the total, around Tk3,500 crore was set aside for organising the national election, according to Ministry of Finance sources.

In the revised budget for the fiscal year 2022–23, the commission's operating expenses stood at Tk674 crore.

Election Commission sources said the original budget had allocated Tk33 crore for publicity and advertising for the 13th parliamentary election. In the revised budget, this amount was increased to Tk75.88 crore, marking a rise of about 130%.

Spending on the purchase of equipment and supplies has also increased sixfold to Tk70 crore, the sources said.

Spending on transport has been increased by 63% to Tk80.12 crore, according to Election Commission sources.

The allocation for printing and binding has been set at Tk108 crore, while spending under miscellaneous heads has risen to Tk581 crore. This represents increases of 208% and 315% respectively.

Spending on ballot boxes has also increased from Tk1 crore to Tk5 crore. Additional costs are expected in several other areas linked to the election, the sources said.

Election Commission sources said a total of 1,533,682 voters at home and abroad have registered to vote by postal ballot in the upcoming 13th parliamentary election and the referendum.

The registration period ended at midnight on 5 January through mobile application, the sources added.

According to sources involved in the Out of Country Voting System and Implementation (OCV-SDI) project, 772,542 expatriate Bangladeshis from 123 countries have registered for postal voting out of the total number of registered postal voters.

The government will spend Tk700 per vote for each expatriate voter in the upcoming election and referendum, the sources said.

Finance division sources also said that additional funds have been allocated to the Ministry of Home Affairs to maintain law and order during the election period and to support the duties of law enforcement agencies.

The government has also allocated extra funds to the Ministry of Public Administration to meet election-related expenses, the sources added.