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Published : 30 Jun 2025, 10:40 PM
The Election Commission (EC) has issued a new policy for managing polling centres ahead of the 13th parliamentary election, removing administrative and police officials from the decision-making process and granting sole authority to election officials.
The revised policy, titled Polling Centre Establishment and Management Policy 2025, was published in the government gazette on Monday.
Unlike the previous version, the new rules exclude metropolitan, district, Upazila, and thana-level administration and police officers, specifically deputy commissioners (DCs) and superintendents of police (SPs), from the committees responsible for selecting and approving polling centres.
The move marks a major procedural shift from the 2023 policy, which had formed district-level committees comprising DCs and SPs to recommend polling locations and make adjustments.
Those committees had come under scrutiny for alleged political bias and lack of neutrality.
By removing that layer, the AMM Nasir Uddin-led EC has empowered its officials with exclusive responsibility for establishing polling centres.
The policy was approved on May 21 during the fifth meeting of the commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Nasir.
Following the meeting, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah told the media: “We have abolished the previous committees under the new policy for polling centre establishment and management. These responsibilities have now been brought fully under the commission.”
He added, “Since EVMs [Electronic Voting Machines] will not be used in the upcoming polls, we have removed all provisions related to EVM-based voting arrangements.”
As in previous elections, the standard formula of one polling centre for every 3,000 voters and one booth for every 500 male and 400 female voters has been retained in the 2025 policy.
The EC has already initiated preparatory measures for the national election, including releasing a draft version of the electoral code of conduct.
In the last parliamentary polls on Jan 7, 2024, over 42,000 polling centres and more than 260,000 booths were used. This time, with over 125 million registered voters, the number of centres and booths is expected to increase significantly.
The Election Commission plans to resolve all claims and objections regarding polling centre locations and publish the final gazette at least 25 days before election day.
