Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has urged political parties to play a proper role in adhering to the election code of conduct.
He made the call during a dialogue with representatives of registered political parties on the occasion of the upcoming 13th national election at the seminar room of the Election Building in the capital’s Agargaon on Wednesday morning (November 19)

The CEC said that in every step of the voting process, the role of all stakeholders is extremely important. “We have observed two or three elections in the past during the caretaker government period, and political parties played a significant role in adhering to the electoral code of conduct. To ensure compliance with the code, every political party and their elected representatives can play an even greater role than law enforcement agencies. Therefore, in this regard, we expect you to fulfill the role anticipated by both the Election Commission (EC) and the countrymen,” he added.

He said, “Not only the EC alone, but you are also committed to the Nation to ensure a fair and acceptable election. In the dialogue so far, no political party has made a statement like ‘we do not want an acceptable election’. Everyone has promised the nation a fair and acceptable election,” he said.

He further said, “This is only natural, because you engage in politics for the country, care for its welfare, and wish for its prosperity — we believe that. That is why we have also made a pledge to the nation, and the Chief Adviser has likewise committed to building a national consensus around this election.”

The CEC added that the draft code of conduct incorporates numerous recommendations from the Election System Reform and National Consensus Commission. “After preparing the draft, we uploaded it to our website to seek public opinion. Various political parties and other organisations submitted their written feedback. After reviewing all the comments, the code has now been finalised,” he explained.

However, he emphasised that preparing the code of conduct is not the main challenge. “What is truly important for a successful election is adherence to the code of conduct. We expect that political parties will play the anticipated role in following these guidelines,” he said.

“We all know that over the past ten to fifteen years, the country’s voters have become somewhat disenchanted with elections. Many have been reluctant or hesitant to come to the polling stations. National leaders, who maintain direct connections with grassroots communities, can influence people through their statements. You can motivate the public to cast their votes. We aim to bring everyone to the polling stations, and we believe you are capable of making that happen,” he said.

Senior officials of the Election Commission were present during the ongoing dialogue, including Election Commissioners Brigadier General (Retd.) Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah, Abdur Rahmanel Mashud, Tahmida Ahmed, Md. Anwarul Islam Sarkar, and Akhtar Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the EC Secretariat.

In today’s dialogue, the political parties that participated in the morning session included Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Minority Janata Party (BMJP), Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh, National Citizen Party (NCP), Ganasanghati Andolan, Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Andolan (NDM), and Bangladesh Labour Party.

Additionally, the Election Commission is scheduled to hold discussions with representatives from six more political parties: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Gono Odhikar Parishad, Nagorik Oikya, Bangladesh Republican Party (BRP), and Bangladesh Socialist Party (BSD)–Marxist.