Govt undertakes reform initiatives for fair polls: Badiul Alam

Resolving the debate over whether elections or reforms should come first, Sayed Badiul Alam Majumdar, chief of the Electoral System Reform Commission on Monday said that the government has undertaken the reform initiative to hold the next general election in a free and fair manner.

“The election could have been held earlier if it was to happen. The reforms are being conducted only to hold the election in a free, fair and transparent manner,” Alam said while addressing a programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity this noon.  

Meanwhile, several political parties, including BNP have been mounting pressure on the government to hold the 13th parliamentary election immediately after ensuring some necessary reforms.

Amid political pressure, the interim government has announced an electoral roadmap, indicating that the next general election is likely to take place in late 2025 or early 2026.

Claiming that the current electoral ground is not congenial, Alam said the reforms must be conducted otherwise holding the next general election in a free and fair atmosphere will be impossible.

The reform initiatives have already created a bright prospect in the country, said Alam, who is the founder secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN), a non-partisan citizens’ platform that works with an objective to institutionalise and promote democracy in the country.

The country’s democratic system has not yet been upheld after the last 53-54 years of independence while the electoral system has been exiled, he said.

“We will have to clean the electoral ground, removing all weeds to ensure a level playing field for all,” Alam said, calling upon all to accept the caretaker government system to hold the next general election transparently.