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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin has said the officials must remain firm in their decisions and act strictly in accordance with the law, without yielding to any pressure while performing their election duties.
He assured them of providing full cooperation , saying that EC would also not bow to any pressure from any quarter.
The CEC made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a programme, titled 'Training of Trainers (TOT) over Polls Management at the Electoral Training Institute (ETI) in the capital's Agargaon area on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election scheduled for early February 2026.
Around 50 Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) participated in the event.
He said the EC will neither exert pressure on nor issue directives to officials beyond legal framework while they perform their duties in the elections.
"Lack of respect for the law in the country is the main reason behind the current situation. We need to establish the rule of law, not the rule by law.'
Highlighting the importance of the UNOs, the CEC said establishing coordination among all entities concerned during elections is vital.
"Since you are engaged at the upazila levels, the responsibility of coordination essentially rests with you".
Referring to past instances where miscreants occupied polling centres and stuffed the ballot box before leaving, he instructed the UNOs: "Your responsibility is to ensure this does not happen again."
At the training programme, Election Commissioner Brig Gen Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah (retd.) said an app, currently in the trial phase, will be launched on November 16 to facilitate registration of the expatriate voters and enable them to cast their ballots in the upcoming elections.
"Bangladeshis living abroad will be able to register to vote through the app. The app will feature digital ballot papers, allowing voters to cast their votes by selecting either the 'yes' or 'no' option," he said.
The EC aims to make the upcoming national election as an exemplary election one in the history of the country and specific preparations are being made well in advance, he added.
Election Commissioners Begum Tahmida Ahmad and Anwarul Islam Sarker were also present.
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