Today, 28 October (Tuesday), a delegation of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, led by the party’s Secretary General and former MP Professor Mia Golam Porwar, met with the Election Commission at the EC secretariat office. The delegation included the organization’s Assistant Secretary General Maulana ATM Masum, Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan and Dr. Hamidur Rahman Azad (former MP), central executive committee member and Secretary of Jamaat's Central Publicity & Media Department Advocate Matiur Rahman Akanda, central executive committee member and Ameer of Dhaka City South Nurul Islam Bulbul, and central executive committee member and Ameer of Dhaka City North Md. Selim Uddin.

At the meeting, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami submitted an 18-point recommendations to the Election Commission aimed at ensuring that the upcoming national parliamentary election is held freely, fairly and impartially.

The Election Commission listened attentively to the Jamaat leaders’ statements and said, “The demands of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami are reasonable and realistic. The Commission assured that appropriate measures will be taken on these matters.”

Those recommendations are presented below for the information of the public

1. In order to give the July Charter a legal basis, a referendum should be held next November immediately after issuance of the July Charter Implementation Order.

2. According to the latest amendment to Clause 20 of the Public Representation Order, adopted in the Advisory Council, each political party must use its own party symbol. Parties must not use another party’s symbol. This provision must remain in force. The Election System Reform Commission itself recommended including the provision that registered parties contest elections under their own party symbol even when contesting in alliances. Therefore this provision must not be changed under any circumstances. The amended provision must be maintained.

3. One hundred percent neutrality of officers and staff at every level of the Election Commission and the administration must be ensured.

4. Complete neutrality must be ensured in appointing officials and staff for election duties — including presiding officers, polling officers, Ansar, and law-and-order forces assigned for security duties.

5. A sufficient number of military personnel must be deployed at all polling stations.

6. CCTV cameras must be installed in the electoral booths of all polling stations.

7. Any disputed or controversial officers and staff who were involved with previous illegal elections must not be given election responsibilities in the upcoming election. Administrative officers at the field level (DC, SP, UNO and OC) must be appointed entirely on a 100% lottery basis.

8. In appointing Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers, in addition to administrative officers, the Bangladesh Election Commission should, as far as possible, appoint its own officials — selecting honest, competent and experienced officers while maintaining neutrality.

9. At every polling station, strict deployment of law enforcement forces — including the military, BGB, RAB and police — must be ensured at least one week before the election.

10. Equal opportunities and facilities must be provided to all participating political parties to level the electoral playing field.

11. All illegal weapons spread across the country must be recovered. In addition, licenses for weapons that were politically issued to party affiliates during the rule of the previous fascist government should be cancelled and those weapons surrendered to the government.

12. Those who use illegal weapons in electoral areas to create terror and panic must be arrested and brought under the law.

13. To ensure voters can come and go to polling stations safely, if reports of terrorist activity are received anywhere within the designated polling area or even outside it but within the electoral area, such activity must be immediately tackled.

14. Voter photographs in the photographic voter list are not clearly visible. Therefore, voter lists with clear photographs must be provided to polling agents in due time.

15. All polling officers, presiding officers, Ansar, and law-and-order officers and staff engaged in election duties must be given the opportunity to cast their votes by postal ballot.

16. To simplify voting for expatriate voters, voting should be allowed using either a voter ID card or a passport. The list of registered expatriate voters must be provided to political parties within a reasonable time.

17. When appointing election observers, the political affiliation and neutrality of the observers must be verified.

18. During the fascist era polling stations were changed to suit themselves. Therefore, considering complaints, those polling stations and other vulnerable polling stations should be altered.