No one is in a position of being trusted, says Election Commissioner Anwarul

"This crisis of confidence is a national crisis,” he says

Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker has warned of a “crisis of trust” in Bangladesh.

Speaking at a meeting with the Association of Journalists on Thursday, he remarked that “no one is being trusted” in the country’s current political climate.

“The most difficult thing is that no one is being trusted. I do not claim that people are confident in me, either. This crisis of confidence is a national crisis.”

On Jul 23, the Election Commission issued the “Policy for Journalists/Media Workers, 2025”, ahead of the 13th national parliamentary elections.

At the meeting, the leaders of the Reporters Forum for Elections and Democracy (RFED) raised objections, arguing that the policy would restrict the free flow of information.

Anwarul reassured the journalists, promising to review their concerns before finalising the guidelines.

EC ADDS:

“We need to analyse every issue thoroughly,” he said.

“Please cooperate with us from your side as well. We will cooperate with each other so that we can hold a good election from our respective positions in light of the reality.”

The new policy restricts live broadcasting from polling centres and prohibits taking photographs inside voting booths.

Journalists with valid accreditation will be allowed to enter polling stations but must notify the presiding officer.

No more than two reporters may enter at a time, and their stay is limited to 10 minutes.

They are also barred from interviewing election officials, party agents or voters inside polling stations.

RFED leaders warned that such restrictions could undermine transparency and make it harder to prevent electoral irregularities.

They demanded several changes which include:

• accredited journalists should be allowed entry without prior notice to the presiding officer;

• photographs of irregularities inside booths should be permitted;

• at least five reporters should be allowed in polling centres at once;

• accountability provisions should be added to address obstruction of journalists

Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said the journalists’ proposals would be carefully reviewed.