Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) activists took to the streets across Dhaka on Thursday in a forceful push for sweeping reforms to the Election Commission and the immediate rollout of local government elections. Demonstrations erupted in key areas including Jatrabari and Mirpur, marking the party’s most assertive public challenge yet to what it decries as a “partisan” electoral system.
At a mass rally in Jatrabari, NCP Central Joint Chief Coordinator S M Shahriar warned that failure to reform the electoral process could trigger another wave of public uprising, referencing the July movement as an ongoing revolutionary force. Echoing this urgency, other NCP leaders accused the current Election Commission of lacking credibility and serving narrow political interests.
Tensions escalated earlier in the week with a siege of the EC headquarters, and continued Thursday with sharp allegations from NCP Joint Member Secretary Nizam Uddin. He criticized recent political appointments in Chattogram and Dhaka, suggesting alignments between figures from different political camps—including former Mayor Taposh’s associates and BNP leaders—further fueling distrust in the electoral framework.
While Election Commissioner Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah reiterated the EC’s constitutional neutrality, asserting that decisions on the election timeline rest with the government, NCP leaders rejected his defense, calling for the repeal of the 2022 Election Commission Formation Act. They also questioned recent EC decisions regarding expired election terms, adding legal pressure to their political demands.
The EC’s recent policy-level changes—shifting polling centre oversight to its own authority and introducing draft codes of conduct—highlight internal adjustments amidst growing external pressure. However, NCP maintains these reforms are insufficient without full restructuring and the establishment of a Supreme Judicial Council.
As the party vows to sustain its revolutionary momentum, Thursday’s protests signal a critical escalation in Bangladesh’s political standoff, with electoral legitimacy at the heart of a deepening crisis.
