Court rulings on constituency changes raising questions: EC secretary

The recent court rulings regarding constituency boundaries have put the Election Commission in a "questionable" position, Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said today (11 December).

Speaking to reporters at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, he said, "The court's rulings on constituency boundaries have raised questions about our decisions. Questionable and curtailed are not the same – curtailed means cancelled, while questionable means it can be challenged."

His remarks come after the High Court declared illegal the EC's gazette reducing the number of constituencies in Bagerhat from four to three, instructing instead that all four seats be retained.

The ruling was delivered yesterday by the High Court bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar Kajol, following two separate writ petitions.

Ahead of the 13th national election, the EC had proposed on 30 July to cut one of Bagerhat's four constituencies. The move sparked protests among local residents and political activists, who also participated in EC hearings demanding retention of the four-seat configuration.

Despite objections, the EC finalised its gazette on 4 September, keeping the reduction in place through boundary changes.

Responding to questions on the matter, Akhtar said the EC would not comment on the independence or jurisdiction of the judiciary. "We will review the court order once we officially receive it. Until then, we must wait."

"A total of 3,10,414 expatriate Bangladeshis so far registered'

The senior secretary also provided updates on out-of-country voting and postal ballots for the upcoming election.

He said a total of 3,10,414 expatriate Bangladeshis have so far registered to vote from abroad.

The senior secretary also informed that within the country, three categories of individuals may vote through postal ballots – government officials on election duty, election staff engaged in polling activities, and persons in lawful custody.

"The EC has developed a mobile application for postal ballot registration, currently available on the Google Play Store for Android users. Approval for the Apple Store is still pending," he added.

Secretary Akhtar said registration for polling officials is expected to begin immediately after the election schedule is announced. "Return­ing officers must first publish the list of personnel assigned to election duties. We expect the registration process to start formally by 16 or 17 December."

"Registration for voters in lawful custody will take place between 21 and 25 December, while election duty officials like presiding, assistant presiding, and polling officers will begin registering once deployment plans are finalised," he said.