Bangladesh Election Commission

Bangladesh Election Commission is an independent constitutional institution located at Sher E Bangla Nagar in Dhaka. The nickname of the establishment is EC. Bangladesh parliament election is the main working area of EC once in every five years.

About Bangladesh Election Commission

The commission was established in the year 1971. It performs the functions articulated in the Election Law of Bangladesh. According to Article 118 of the constitution, the president has to appoint an Election Commissioner in the Election Commission. So the post of Election Commissioner is a constitutional post as well. When there is more than one Election Commissioner, the chief commissioner will act as the chairperson. Once a person has been assigned to act as a chief election commissioner he or she will not be able to get an appointment in the service of Republic. The powers of the Election Commission has to be articulated in Article 118-4 and 126. According to these articles, it is an independent institution and can operate its activities without any government influence.

Functions of Election Commission

The Election Commission’s functions are related to announcing and holding elections at the national and district level and also to publish the results. The main responsibility of the commission is to arrange a free, fair, and credible election where all the competing parties will receive equal treatment and opportunity. It is the responsibility of the election commission so that no party can get added advantage because of monetary power or manpower. The EC sets the limit of advertisement before the election. It has the authority to ask help from Bangladesh Army, Border Guard, and Air forces to arrange a fair and credible election. We can classify the functions of the election commission in five core functions. They are as follows:

Working Area of EC 

• Guardian of free and fair election in national, district, and upazila level
• Election laws
• Voter registration
• Political parties reforms
• Parliamentary Election
• Code of Conduct for Candidates
• Registration of Political Parties
• Conduct of Elections
• Local Elections
• Voter Registration
• Prohibition on publication
• Quasi judicial powers

Secretariat of EC

It has two secretariats. They are central and regional. According to EC secretariat act 2009, the commission has its secretariat. The administration of EC is located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and also has several training institutions in the district, thana, and Upazila level. The execution of orders of the EC is the primary duty of the EC Secretariat.

It has divisional offices. It has about seven divisional offices. The functions of the divisional offices are to maintain the relationship with the EC secretariat and coordinate and  the field level activities with the head office. They work directly with the voters to identify their problems, educate voters regarding voting and providing voting center names and numbers.

The commission also has district offices. There are about 83 district election offices and 64 district headquarters. All of them are regulated and operated by District Election Officer. They provide all forms of assistances to the polling officers, and agents. It supplies ballot boxes to the designated voting centers.

Election Commission is a vital institution in Bangladesh. It performs diversified activities regarding the election of national, district, and Upazila level leaders who will represent the people of that particular region in the parliaments or ministries.

Contact Address

Block-5/6, Election Commission Secretariat, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh Ph: 880-02-9180835 FAX: 880-2-8119819, 8113156, 8129325, 9129033 E-mail:secretary@ecs.gov.bd Official website: http://www.ec.org.bd

Bangladesh election commission deals the parliament, and Upazila perished, city corporation and local government election.

Related Links

Bangladesh Parliament House