Dhaka: The Election Commission (EC) has issued instructions regarding the allocation of slots for airing the speeches of political party leaders on Bangladesh Television (BTV) on the occasion of the upcoming referendum and the 13th national election. Creating a suitable electoral environment is crucial to ensure fair, free, and acceptable elections. In this regard, ensuring equal opportunities for campaigning on BTV for all political parties will contribute positively to creating an electoral environment, as mentioned in an EC press release.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the EC has outlined specific instructions for BTV in this context. Under the sub-rule (C) of Rule 6 (public meetings, path meetings, and rallies) of the National Parliament Election Conduct Rules, 2025, slots should be allocated in the order of receipt of written applications. BTV is required to allocate a separate slot for the party leader of each political party and determine the duration of the slot. Furthermore, all political parties that request an opportunity to campaign on BTV should be given the opportunity to speak in the order of their application. BTV will finalize the date and time of the campaign recording after discussions with the concerned political party.
As of now, no application has been received from any political party other than the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for campaigning on BTV. Consequently, the party leader of BNP should be given the opportunity to speak in the last slot on February 9, as per their request, the press release stated.