331 organizations apply to become election observers

Ahead of the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, a total of 331 organizations have applied to the Election Commission (EC) for registration as local election observers. These applications were submitted by August 10.

According to the EC, 318 applications were received by 5 pm on August 10, with an additional 13 submitted after that time.

Earlier, Nasir Uddin-led commission canceled the registration of 96 observer organizations under the 2023 guidelines and introduced new regulations. Those 96 domestic organizations had been registered before the 12th National Parliamentary Election during the Awami League government’s tenure. Now, for the 13th election, the registration process for observer organizations is being carried out under the updated guidelines.

The EC first introduced the observer registration system ahead of the 9th National Parliamentary Election in 2008, when 138 organizations were registered. That election saw 159,113 domestic observers deployed. In the 10th parliamentary election in 2014, 35 organizations fielded 8,874 observers; in the 11th election in 2018, 81 organizations deployed 25,900 observers; and in the most recent 12th election in 2024, 80 organizations sent 20,256 observers.