DHAKA — The Jatiya Sangsad on Saturday passed the much-debated Electoral Reform Bill 2026 by voice vote, after a marathon nine-hour session marked by two opposition walkouts, spirited points of order and, at one point, an impromptu recitation of a rural folk poem by a backbencher urging calm.
The bill's headline provisions include transparent ballot boxes in all 42,000 polling centres, mandatory live CCTV streaming from counting rooms, publication of centre-wise results within six hours, and a ten-year jail term for ballot stuffing or intimidating voters.
The Law Adviser told the House the reforms were drafted after 78 days of dialogue with 42 parties, civil society and student representatives of the July uprising. 'This is not any party's law — it is the charter of the voter's dignity,' he said, to thumping of desks.
The opposition, while supporting transparency clauses, objected to provisions allowing the Election Commission to cancel candidacies for 'false affidavits' without court conviction, calling it a 'sword over rivals'. Treasury members countered that courts had clogged such cases for decades.
Civil society largely welcomed the law. Election watchdog FEMA said live-streamed counting 'could end the midnight-ballot culture forever' if implemented honestly. The EC Secretariat said mock drills will begin in 30 constituencies next month, and a voter-awareness caravan will tour all 64 districts.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by Farhana Sultana • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
