Bangladesh to Hold Presidential Election on August 20, EC Announces Voting Process

Bangladesh's presidential election will be held on August 20, with voting scheduled from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (local time) in the chamber of the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament), according to Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

Speaking to reporters after a preparatory meeting with the Acting Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday, Ahmed said polling would continue until 5:00 p.m. to accommodate any member of parliament (MP) who might be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.

"Voting arrangements will remain in place until 5:00 p.m. If any MP arrives late because of unavoidable reasons, they will still have the opportunity to cast their vote within the stipulated time," he said.

Ahmed explained that MPs would remain seated in their designated seats inside the parliamentary chamber, while Election Commission officials would distribute ballot papers directly to them.

Each ballot paper will consist of two sections: a counterfoil and the main ballot. The counterfoil will include the candidate's serial number, the voter's name, constituency number, and a space for the voter's signature. The main ballot will display the names of all candidates, with a blank space beside each name where MPs will write the full name of their preferred candidate and sign the ballot.

To facilitate voting, three transparent ballot boxes will be placed inside the chamber, allowing MPs to cast their ballots in any one of them.

Ahmed said vote counting would begin immediately after polling ends at 5:00 p.m., in front of the ballot boxes inside the parliamentary chamber. A ballot-counting team comprising four or five officials will first sort the ballots before completing the counting process.

Out of the total 349 ballots, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), acting as the Returning Officer, will announce the number of valid and rejected ballots as well as the votes received by each candidate directly in the parliamentary chamber. The Election Commission will later publish the official gazette notification confirming the final result.

The EC senior secretary also said the voting and counting process will be broadcast live from the parliamentary chamber, while designated seating arrangements will be made for journalists covering the election.

In addition, the Election Commission will issue special identity cards to 20 of its officials assigned to oversee the election process.