Staff Correspondent:

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Wednesday reaffirmed that the Election Commission will not bow to any pressure in its commitment to ensuring free and fair elections.

“The Election Commission will not bend to any pressure,” he said while addressing a training event for Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) in the city.

The CEC asked the UNOs not to bow down to any pressure rather remain firm on their decisions completely as per the law.

“You shall not bend to any pressure as well. Stand firmly on your decisions completely in line with the laws. We’ll provide all-out cooperation to you,” he said.

The event titled Training of Trainers (TOT) over polls management was held with participation of 50 UNOs at the Electoral Training Institute (ETI) in the Agargaon area ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election planned to be held in early February 2026.

Focusing on the importance of adherence to the law, the CEC said, “We will not issue any unlawful or unjust orders. We will issue instructions that are fully in accordance with the laws, and you must implement them accordingly.”

“We expect you to act fairly, legally, neutrally, professionally, and to discharge or discharge,” said Nasir Uddin.

He stressed the need for cultivating the culture of respect for the laws, he said the more a nation respects the law, the more civilized that nation is. “We must cultivate this culture of lawfulness. We want everyone, at all levels, to follow the laws and establish respect for the laws,” he added.

Putting emphasis on maintaining proper coordination by the UNOs at the Upazila level during the election, the CEC said coordination is a big thing during elections.

“This is because you are at the upazila level and the responsibility of coordination mainly depends on you. Those who are UNOs, you do the coordination at the upazila level. Therefore, this coordination is very important during elections as well,” he said.

The CEC asked the UNOs and magistrates who lead the mobile courts to check electoral violence and irregularities timely.

“You must ensure that you won’t turn up at the spots after everything is over or snatching away the ballot boxes at home following violence and occupying the polling stations,” Nasir Uddin said.

He highlighted the need for well-trained subordinates under the UNOs for the sake of conducting a fair and credible election.

“You will make efforts to ensure that your subordinates are trained through you and can deliver a fair and credible election,” said the CEC.

All four election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Tahmida Ahmad, Md Anwarul Islam Sarker and Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Fazal Md Sanaullah spoke at the function presided over by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.