If a contesting political party is aggrieved by the Commission’s certification of an election to be free, fair and credible, it will have 48 hours to lodge a complaint with the National Constitutional Council (NCC) or the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The Council or the Court to settle the complaint within 7 working days.

Year
2025
Reform Domain
Electoral Process Electoral Process
Sub Domain
Responsibilities of the Election Commission
Source of Reform Proposals
Electoral Reform Commission
Reform Proposed
Reform Proposed
Reform Initiated
Reform Initiated
Legal and Policy Framework
Legal and Policy Framework
Operationalisation
Operationalisation
Action Implementation
Action Implementation
Stage of Implementation
Reform Proposed
Reform Proposed
Last Update: 14-Feb-26
This reform proposal has been articulated in the Electoral Reform Commission Report, but has yet to be officially initiated.
Observation
    The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has alleged irregularities in vote counting and result publication in at least 32 constituencies and has stated that it will seek legal remedy. Jamaat and its alliance parties had requested the Election Commission (EC) to delay the gazette publication.
    However, the EC subsequently published the gazette on 13th February at 11 PM.
    After the gazette has been published, the EC has no right to alter the results, although legal provisions remain available for aggrieved candidates.
    This proposal is not included in the amended Representation of the People's Order (RPO) 2025 or any other recent amendments related to the electoral process, nor has it been included in the July Charter.
    It is necessary to have political buy-in from the elected government to implement this proposal. Political parties may wish to clearly articulate their positions on this reform proposal in their respective election manifestos.
Resources
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Related Reforms

(a) Election expenditure to be capped at BDT 10 per voter per parliamentary constituency.
(b) All election expenses to be processed through banking systems or financial technology platforms (e.g., Bikash, Rocket).
(c) To maintain close oversight on election expenditures of candidates and political parties, the Election Commission to set up ‘election expenditure monitoring committees’ at the constituency levels.
(d) Election expenditures filed by candidates and political parties to be subjected to auditing, the candidates’ election to be annulled in case of discrepancies.
(e) All election related expenses of the Election Commission to be a charge on the consolidated budget of the Republic.
Legal and Policy Framework
(a) To allow stationary observation, so that observers may remain at the centre throughout the day, but not inside the polling booth continuously. (b) Official permission to be granted to observer organisations for pre-election observation. (c) Fake and biased observers to be banned. (d) Appointment of individual observers is to be allowed. (e) Election observation reports are to be used to improve future elections. (f) To make the steps from the beginning to the end of appointing international observers clear for the concerned organisations. To appoint observers according to the decision of the Commission instead of the government. (g) Journalists with valid election commission-issued cards are to be allowed to enter polling stations to document irregularities, and they are to be allowed to use motorcycles on election day.
Operationalisation
(a) The proposed Election Commission Act to have provisions to ensure that offenses or irregularities committed by the Election Commission to be brought to justice. (b) By amending the relevant law, to retain the provision requiring the Commission’s permission to file cases against government officers and employees, and to remove the legal barriers to conducting an investigation or inquiry in this regard. (c) To relax the prescribed time limit for filing cases under sections 73 and 74, in section 90 of the Representation of the People Order, 1972. (d) A time limit to be set for the disposal of electoral offense cases to expedite the length of adjudication and ensure timely justice.
Reform Proposed
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Glossary

Last Updated: 14th December 2025

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