No EVMs in local elections

In line with the national parliamentary elections, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to discontinue the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in local government elections as well. This decision was officially confirmed in the Gazette published on Thursday, July 3, on the EC’s website, under the "Local Government Election Polling Center Setup and Management Policy-2025."

The Gazette, signed by the EC’s Deputy Secretary, Dewan Md. Sarwar Jahan, was issued on June 26. According to the new policy, the responsibility for setting up polling stations will now lie with EC’s own officers instead of a committee formed by the district commissioner and police superintendent, as was the previous practice. The Commission had already taken a similar step for the national parliamentary elections.

Notably, the use of EVMs in Bangladesh began in 2010 during the Chittagong City Corporation elections, where they were tested in one ward with assistance from BUET. EVMs were then used in several elections in 2014 and in six constituencies during the 2018 national parliamentary elections.

Before the 11th national parliamentary elections, the Election Commission quickly purchased nearly 150,000 EVMs. However, within five years, around 120,000 of these machines became unusable. The EC later proposed a project to repair them, but the government at the time did not approve it. Earlier this year, the EC decided to cancel the EVM project altogether.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into allegations of irregularities in the procurement and use of EVMs. The ACC has summoned three EC officials for questioning. After removing EVMs from the legal framework for national elections, the EC has now extended the same decision to local government elections.