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The Election Commission (EC) has formed a 12-member committee to draft a Software Requirement Specification (SRS) aimed at developing a transparent and effective digital system for issuing election duty accreditation cards to journalists.
EC Director of Public Relations Md. Abdul Momin Sarkar confirmed the initiative on Thursday (September 10).
According to an official order issued by EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, the committee will submit detailed recommendations governing the entire workflow—from initial online registration and document verification to the final issuance of journalist credentials.
EC Additional Secretary Md. Shamsul Alam will serve as the convener, with PR Director Md. Abdul Momin Sarkar as a member. The panel also includes Reporters' Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) President Kazi Emad Uddin Jebel, General Secretary Ikram-ud Doula, along with representatives from the Ministry of Information, the Press Information Department (PID), and commission officials. The committee holds the authority to co-opt technical experts as needed.
The structural initiative follows missteps ahead of the 13th National Parliament election on February 12, when the EC hastily launched an online accreditation website without prior trial testing. A data exposure flaw on that platform leaked the private records of approximately 14,000 applicants, prompting severe criticism from media organizations and forcing the commission to scrap the portal. The EC now aims to establish a secure, multi-stakeholder software architecture before future electoral cycles.
