Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Monday said, "Awami League may participate in elections unless the government or the judiciary issues a ban against the party."
Speaking at a view- exchange meeting titled "Voter list update and 13th general election" at the Chattogram Circuit House he said, "If the government does not ban any political party, we cannot cancel their registration. It is a political or a legal decision."
"From our side, we do not want to comment on this matter," he added.
CEC said, "I have been saying this from the very beginning. We are looking at political or legal decision."
Nasir said, "Awami League has been registered since 1972. We can't rule it out, we cannot keep them out of election."
He said, "The Election Commission runs with complete independence and faces no external pressure. We are committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure a fair and transparent election."
"The voter list will be updated within the next six months," he added.
When asked about the ongoing discussion of allowing 17-year-olds to vote, he said, "According to our constitution we cannot include anyone under 18- year old in the voter list unless we amend constitution."
CEC said, "We can only follow the constitution."
Nasir said that, Election Commission (EC) has not decided to take any action against any previous Election Commissioners who were involved in 2018 and 2024 elections.
"In this regard we will work according to EC reform commission's decisions," he said.
The CEC said, "There are many fake voters in the current voter list. Many foreign voters have become included in the list. Many voters died, but their names remain in the list."
Nasir said that, people have lost faith in the electoral process. I want to bring back their trust on polling system.
CEC said, "In the last 15-16 years, the political parties, students and people sacrificed many lives to vote. Political parties are supposed to be with us. They are committed to the nation. Their main demand is a free and fair election.
"A national consensus has been created in this regard after August 5," he said.
Regarding the proposition of numerical proportional voting, the CEC said, "This issue has not yet been incorporated in our constitution. We will see what the constitution reform commission suggests."
"If the government takes steps to amend the constitution in that way, then we will hold elections under proportional voting system. If not, it has to be done as it is under the existing constitution," said CEC.
