No extensive time needed for holding polls under our proposed constitutional reforms: BNP

BNP leaders have said the proposal they submitted to the Constitutional Reform Commission can be implemented quickly, allowing the next national election to be held without delay.

At a press conference held at the BNP Chairperson's office in Gulshan today, the BNP leaders mentioned that they have suggested strengthening the Election Commission and proposed restoring the caretaker government system in the constitution.

BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan said, "We have suggested strengthening the Election Commission to ensure a level playing field for the elections. The upcoming election should allow genuine representatives of the people to be elected to parliament, not dummy representatives."

Nazrul Islam Khan, another BNP standing committee member, mentioned that the proposals submitted to the constitutional reform commission could be implemented quickly, and that elections could be held promptly.

"There are no proposals that require new implementations. We have suggested empowering the Election Commission, setting up a separate secretariat for them, and granting them additional powers. There are also proposals to improve some laws, so this does not require much time," he said.

He added, "The main task of an election is the voter list. In our country, it is updated regularly. With our current system, it can be done automatically and quickly."

Nazrul Islam Khan also pointed out a report in a newspaper suggesting the voter list would be announced on 1 February 2025, with a house-to-house verification process planned for March 2026. 

He clarified that under normal circumstances, if someone's name is not added to the voter list, they can visit the local election office to have it included. Similarly, if someone ineligible has been added, the process should not take long to address.

"The proposals submitted by the BNP to the constitutional reform commission, the upcoming election can be held without significant delay," the BNP leader added.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the proposals from BNP, after consultation with various experts, include a few constitutional reforms and primarily focus on legal reforms.

BNP reveals 10-point proposal for electoral reforms

At the press conference, BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan presented a 10-point reform proposal, including amending the RPO, some rules in election management, revising the code of conduct for political parties and candidates, changes to the policy for the registration of political parties, upgrading the election observation policy, increasing the capacity of the Election Commission, and a separate electoral code of conduct for the media.

The BNP leader said they have already submitted these reform proposals to the government-formed Election Reform Commission, including a proposal to restore the caretaker government system to remove barriers to holding a free and fair election.