Dhaka, Sept 28 (V7N) – The Election Commission (EC) has commenced a month-long electoral dialogue from Sunday (Sept 28) ahead of the 13th National Parliamentary Elections. The first day of the dialogue focuses on discussions with representatives of civil society and distinguished academics.

 
According to an EC statement on Saturday, the dialogue will take place at the EC Secretariat’s conference hall in Agargaon, Dhaka, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with civil society members, followed by a session with prominent educationists from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The dialogue will be chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A. M. M. Nasir Uddin, with all four Election Commissioners and EC Secretariat officials present. The sessions are being live-streamed on the EC’s official YouTube channel (@BangladeshECS) and Facebook page (Bangladesh Election Commission Secretariat).
 
Excluding the Durga Puja holidays, the dialogue will continue for nearly a month, gradually including media representatives, women leaders, observers, election experts, political parties, and July war veterans. Mid-October will see registered political parties invited to participate; currently, 50 parties are registered. The EC has suspended the registration of the banned Awami League, and objections remain regarding the National Party and certain 14-party alliance members that participated in the 2023 mass uprising. Whether these parties will be included in the dialogue has not yet been confirmed.
 
Meanwhile, registration for new political parties is ongoing. Of the 22 parties that passed the preliminary selection, four to five, including the National Citizens Party (NCP), are expected to receive EC registration and may participate in the dialogue after completing the registration process, likely in mid-October.
 
To manage discussions efficiently, larger parties will be invited individually while smaller parties will participate in groups, avoiding disorder during the sessions. EC Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Mashud confirmed that the dialogue and party registration processes will follow the planned roadmap, with the EC announcing new party registrations by September 30 and holding dialogue sessions in the last week of the month. EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed added that group discussions may be necessary to save time and ensure effective engagement.
 
The electoral dialogue system was introduced before the 2008 elections under the leadership of Dr. A. T. M. Shamsul Huda. It allows stakeholders to provide input on legal reforms, level playing fields, and election processes. The EC has already implemented various legal reforms, though the primary election law, the Representation of the People Order (RPO), remains under amendment.
 

END/RKB/SMA/