When the Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh published its initial list of 73 organizations on September 28, 2025, for registration as election observers, the move was intended to signal transparency and openness. Instead, the publication has opened a Pandora’s box of questions, exposing the credibility gap that continues to haunt Bangladesh’s electoral system. What was supposed to be a process to ensure fairness in the upcoming elections has revealed weaknesses in vetting, questionable political affiliations, and even dormant or fraudulent organizations attempting to masquerade as legitimate watchdogs.

One case that illustrates the problem clearly is Agrajatra Samaj Unnayan Sangstha, listed at number 29 in the EC’s public notice. Its address is recorded as Sindurmati, Rajarhat, Kurigram. When journalists visited the area to verify, they were directed to the residence of Humayun Kabir, the executive director. Kabir admitted that his organization is no longer active, though at one time it worked on disability education and women’s socio-economic development.

Local residents recounted how the group had once managed the VGD program under the Department of Women’s Affairs in 2020 but was later sued for financial irregularities. That case remains unresolved. The EC’s choice to include such an organization raises the obvious question: how did it qualify for observer status in the first place?

Agrajatra Samaj Unnayan Sangstha is hardly an isolated example. Reporters investigating the listed organizations found many of them to be little more than signboards on residences, abandoned houses, or even buildings under construction. Garib Unnayan Sangstha, also in Kurigram, turned out to be run from the home of its executive director Abdul Latif. Only he and his son were present in a small office room attached to their residence.

Another listed group, Alokito Samaj Kalyan Sangstha, gave its official address as Bishyakhali Bazar, Jhenaidah Sadar. Yet no trace of the office could be found there. Instead, its executive director, Rokhsana, was discovered running a cosmetics and jewelry shop in Chaklapara,........

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