Presidential election ballot to be ‘Open’

The Election Commission has completed preparations for Bangladesh’s first competitive presidential election in 35 years, with transparency being prioritized over ballot secrecy.

As a result, who votes for whom will be visible to everyone present during the voting process, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and presidential election officer A M M Nasir Uddin said on Wednesday.

He disclosed the details at his office at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.

Usually, the commission’s senior secretary briefs the media, but as the law designates the CEC as the election officer for a presidential election, Nasir Uddin is personally overseeing and briefing the media on the arrangements for what is being described as a special and historic election.

The CEC said all legal and institutional preparations have been completed in coordination with the Election Commission, the Parliament Secretariat and other relevant authorities to ensure a smooth election.

Under Article 48(1) of the Constitution, members of Parliament are the voters in the presidential election. The Election Commission had earlier published the voter list and election schedule.

Explaining some variations in the voter list, the CEC said the 300 parliamentary constituencies are arranged serially from Panchagarh-1 to Bandarban, but voting in the presidential election will be conducted according to the Parliament’s “division numbers”. There is some discontinuity in the division numbers because of the by-election or vacancy in the Chattogram-4 constituency, but the issue has been resolved in accordance with the rules.

The total number of voters is 349.

Voting will take place at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2pm to 5pm on August 20. The president, prime minister, speaker, leader of the opposition and all members of Parliament will exercise their voting rights in the election.

The CEC said consultation with the Speaker is a legal requirement for conducting the election, and the commission finalised the election schedule after holding the necessary consultations.

Vote counting will begin immediately after voting ends at 5pm, and the CEC himself will formally announce the result.

He said the entire counting process would be fully transparent. MPs will be allowed to remain present in the chamber during voting and counting.

As the names of voters and candidates will be clearly printed on the ballot papers, it will be possible for everyone present to see which voter is voting for which candidate.

The Election Commission has also decided to broadcast the voting of VIP voters and the vote-counting process live on Bangladesh Television (BTV).

-SA