Election Commission begins review of usable transparent ballot boxes

The move comes as the procurement of election materials is set to be completed by September

As part of preparations for the parliamentary polls, the Election Commission is gathering updated information from the field on the number of usable transparent ballot boxes.

Minutes of an Aug 18 coordination meeting show that field officials were directed to submit the information to the EC Secretariat within a week, meaning the data is due this week. The initiative comes as the commission aims to complete procurement of election materials by September.

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus announced on Aug 5 that the election would be held before Ramadan next February.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said on Saturday that the EC’s action plan for the polls is “almost ready” and may be unveiled next week.

At the meeting, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed instructed officials to provide details of possible polling stations and booths, ensure adequate storage space for election materials, request required allocations, and send updated counts of ballot boxes.

Akhtar stressed that advance preparation was vital to finishing tasks on time. Draft lists of polling centres by constituency will be published on Sept 10 and finalised by Oct 20, with the gazette issued at least 25 days before voting.

The EC used about 300,000 ballot boxes in the last general election, purchasing more than 50,000 new ones. This time, demand is expected to exceed 300,000, requiring an assessment of how many boxes are usable across Upazila, district, regional and central levels.

Transparent ballot boxes were first used in the 2008 election. Each polling booth requires one box, with one additional box supplied for every polling centre.

Rules for ballot box use and precautions:

One box per booth, plus an extra per centre; multiple boxes cannot be used in a booth simultaneously.

If a box becomes full during polling, the presiding officer must seal it with their signature and those of candidates or agents, store it securely, and introduce a new box.

The same procedures apply for deploying replacement boxes as before polling begins.