Government officials appear reluctant to comment as the government collects voter and duty payment records from elections during the rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Election Commission of Bangladesh has initiated a data collection drive, requesting information from officials and employees about their roles in previous elections under the Hasina regime. This directive comes as a response to the logistical challenge of staffing over 45,000 polling centers nationwide for 300 constituencies, requiring around 14 lakh personnel on election day.
According to reports, some officials are not filling in all fields of the form, with many leaving certain sections blank for various reasons. However, those who served in the last three elections have been seen to complete the section on 'experience in election duty.'
The Ministries of Energy, Housing and Public Works, Textiles and Jute, and other divisions involved in the data collection are gathering details from their officers and staff. The Local Government Division has confirmed that the collected information on officials' participation in the last three elections will be forwarded to the Election Commission.
A labour ministry official, speaking anonymously, noted observations about the form completion. The form requests information about whether an official served in previous elections, the duties they performed, the year and location of service, their grade, pay scale, permanent and current addresses, among other details.
Initially, the committee's decision was to entirely bar officials who served in the 2014, 2018, and 2024 elections from participating in the 13th parliamentary election. However, this decision has since been softened, with officials who served in the last three elections being advised to 'as far as possible' refrain from duties in the upcoming vote.
The committee's decision leaves whether officials who held key responsibilities in previous elections will be assigned roles in the next national parliamentary election entirely to the Election Commission. The Commission has issued letters requesting officials to submit their information in the prescribed format.
Many officials reportedly feel uncomfortable providing the requested information. Excluding all previously serving officials would create a severe manpower shortage, which could potentially hamper the smooth conduct of the election. The data collection is being done following a format set by the Election Commission, aiming to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
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