Bangladesh Nirbachon Porjabakkok Sangathan Federation (BNPSF), a newly formed election observer organization, has been launched at the National Press Club in Dhaka.
The organization aims to provide comprehensive analysis of each stage of an election process in the political and legal context.
Its objective includes the campaign environment, media coverage, the level of preparation of the polls management body, voting, counting, tabulation, and the complaints and appeals process.
Addressing the launch ceremony on Tuesday, Md Monir Hossain, general secretary of BNPSF said: “Election observing is a valuable tool to improve the quality of elections. Observers help build public confidence in the honesty of electoral processes. As an organization, we will do our best.”
Meanwhile, Shamsul Haque, president of BNPSF said at the event: “On June 18, the Election Commission (EC) initially nominated 119 private organizations as election observers. BNPSF is comprised of fifty organizations registered with the Commission.
“We want a free, fair, and credible election—and democratic governance in Bangladesh. Most people are not familiar with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). So we will create awareness about EVMs in different regions of the country.”
The Election Commission is planning to use EVMs in at least 100 of the 300 constituencies.
In the commission’s electoral dialogues which took place last year, 35 of the 40 registered parties – including the BNP and its allies – opposed the idea of using EVMs in the next general polls.
The ruling party Awami League, and four other parties, supported the idea of using EVMs.
