The Electoral System Reform Commission will hold a meeting to take the opinions of various stakeholders including intellectuals, civil society, media personalities, women leaders, representatives of backward communities, Election Commission officials, election monitoring organizations, YouTubers, in order to organize free, fair and impartial elections. The commission will also hold an online meeting with expatriates.
The Reforms Commission has written to 22 parties and alliances for their written comments. However, the letter was not sent to the Awami League and its allied parties and the Jatiya Party (Japa). According to related sources, the reform commission will start its discussion program with the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) tomorrow Saturday. These meetings will continue throughout the month of November.
In this regard, the head of the Election System Reform Commission. Badiul Alam Majumdar said, 'Our work is technical, to recommend how to make fair, impartial, acceptable elections. We are trying to get recommendations from them (political parties).'
Meanwhile, the last time to give opinions from all quarters online was today Friday. But this time has been extended. Mir Nadia Nivin, a member of the Reform Commission and an expert on governance and institutional reform, told Ajker newspaper that the time for giving opinions has been extended until December 15. When asked what kind of comments have been received so far, he said, 'Until November 13, I have received the most comments on the website, 364. I received 171 comments on e-mail, 294 comments on Facebook page and 67 comments on Facebook Messenger.
Mir Nadia Nivin said that the majority of opinions have come regarding electoral system issues. Then came the opinions regarding the constitution and electoral law, the impartiality of the Election Commission and the qualifications of the candidates. He said that many types of opinions have come in addition to the discussed proportional representation for and against.
Online meeting of expatriates on 24 November
The 'Electoral System Reform Commission' will hold an online meeting on November 24 at 10 am (Bangladesh time) to take the opinion of expatriate Bangladeshis on the reform of the electoral system and ensure the voting rights of expatriates. Two participants will be selected from each country. Those interested in participating in the meeting should fill the form on the Facebook page of Election System Reform Commission by November 20.
Meanwhile, the Reform Commission has held a meeting with former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Mohammad Abu Hena. And the Reform Commission held a meeting with the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare, Ministry of Labor and Employment, Prison Authority, Ministry of External Affairs, representatives of the Postal Department and EC officials regarding the postal ballot.
