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The work of redrawing parliamentary constituency boundaries has not even begun, but the Election Commission (EC) has already received nearly 350 claims and objections related to the process.
EC officials said they are planning to hold the next parliamentary election in December and aim to resolve all boundary-related disputes at least six months in advance.
However, the AMM Nasir Uddin-led commission is struggling to decide how these claims and objections will be addressed, reports bdnews24.com.
That is because the draft of the new boundary plan has not been officially published yet, according to officials. The amendment to the Delimitation of Constituencies Act also remains incomplete.
Speaking to reporters on Mar 20, Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarker said: "We have not received any updates yet regarding the boundary issue."
"We have already responded to the queries raised by the Cabinet Division. Now we are waiting for a decision."
The EC sent its amendment proposal to the government on Feb 20.
OVER 350 CLAIMS FILED
The EC has received more than 350 claims and objections regarding the boundaries of at least 60 constituencies from districts including Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Barguna, Barishal, Pirojpur, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Shariatpur, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Chandpur, Feni, Noakhali, and Chattogram.
Among these, the highest number of claims -- 103 -- have been submitted in relation to the Pirojpur-2 constituency.
DELIMITATION HISTORY AT A GLANCE
Between 1973 and 2001, constituency boundaries were mostly drawn using the same method.
In 2008, population density was prioritised during boundary demarcation.
During the 9th parliamentary election, it was decided that no district would have fewer than two seats. Each of the three hill districts would get one seat, and Meherpur, a small district, would get two seats. Meanwhile, Dhaka’s constituencies increased from 13 to 20.
REFORM PANEL RECOMMENDS INDEPENDENT COMMISSION FOR DEMARCATION
The Electoral Reform Commission has recommended the formation of an independent delimitation commission in the future.
It also highlighted the controversies surrounding the delimitation process between 2008 and 2023.
According to the Badiul Alam Majumdar-led reform commission, there were no significant questions raised about constituency boundaries in Bangladesh until the 2001 elections.
The most extensive boundary reconfiguration in the country’s history took place in 2008. At that time, with support from the United Nations, an international delimitation expert was appointed to conduct a study -- though not all recommendations from that study were implemented.