With less than a week ahead of the Bangladesh parliamentary elections, the country’s Election Commission (EC) has identified disinformation as the biggest challenge.
With less than a week ahead of the
Bangladesh parliamentary elections, the country’s Election Commission (EC) has identified disinformation as the biggest challenge. The commission on Thursday said that it is working to bring the situation under control in a “respectable manner”.
The persistence of the issue has been concerning for many since Bangladesh is scheduled to host the 13th national election on February 12. This will be the first election in Bangladesh after the government of the former Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina was toppled due to the massive July uprising.
While speaking to the local reporters at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed briefed them on overall preparations following a meeting with a six‑member European Union delegation.
EC lays out the rule
Ahmed said that ballot papers have already been dispatched to 116 constituencies out of 300, while the remaining papers will reach their destinations by February 7.
He explained that the delay was due to the court orders that reinstated the candidacies in some areas. This required reprinting and changes to the ballots. Apart from this, the
Bangladeshi Election Commission also announced that the campaign of political parties will end at 7:30 am on February 10.
A total of 1,051 executive magistrates will be deployed nationwide between February 8 and 14 to oversee election duties, while members of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) will also assist, The Daily Star reported.
Raising the concern of disinformation, Ahmed said that the commission has been discussing mitigation steps. “We do not want to reduce internet speed or resort to latent measures. Instead, we have requested Meta to take down derogatory comments, offensive content, and misinformation,” he told reporters.
He added that 444,952 postal ballots have been deposited in mailboxes worldwide, with 211,122 ballots already completed. Ballots will be accepted until 4:30 pm on February 12. Akhtar Ahmed also said 6,091 inmates in legal custody have registered to vote through postal ballots.
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