The Election Commission (EC) has started collecting detailed information on polling officials who were involved in the last three national elections—held under the Awami League government and widely criticized as “controversial.”
Letters signed by EC Deputy Secretary Monir Hossain were sent to all Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, requesting the names, addresses, national ID numbers, passport numbers, and mobile numbers of returning officers, presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, and polling officers involved in the 10th (2014), 11th (2018), and 12th (2024) parliamentary elections.
The move follows a case filed by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on June 22 with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station in Dhaka.
The case accuses the EC and the then-government of holding elections without voters, allegedly through fear and manipulation, rather than fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities.
A total of 19 individuals have been named in the case, including former Prime Ministers and three former Chief Election Commissioners (CECs).
Following the case, former CECs Nurul Huda and Kazi Habibul Awal have reportedly been arrested by police.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which is handling the case (Case No: 11, GR No: 156/2025), requested the information from the EC. The charges cited in the case include sections 120B, 109, 171B, 171D, 171G, 171H, 171I, 124A, 406, and 420 of the Penal Code.
In response, the EC has asked the administrative heads of all 64 districts to urgently compile and submit polling official data, center by center.
In national elections, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners typically serve as returning officers, while Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) act as assistant returning officers.
District and Upazila Election Officers also oversee poll duties. More than 200,000 personnel are deployed as presiding, assistant presiding, and polling officers in each election.
