Handbook on Election Reporting

This handbook on election reporting in Bangladesh includes practical guidelines for election reporting at different stages. It contains essential background information on elections in this country, which can be helpful in writing analytical reports; thumbnail sketches of the laws and opinion polls concerning elections; coverage of elections in the electronic media; annexes on the containment in the constitution about the non-party caretaker government, code of conduct for the political parties and candidates; list of the constituencies with the winners and runners-up in the 2001 elections; names and contacts of the major political parties, and a list of election maladies that generally occur in the Indian elections that may be comparable to our situation.

At the national level, with the ninth parliamentary elections ahead, Bangladesh has had eight such elections, three presidential elections and three referendums since its independence. Many of these elections were a sham, heavily rigged and invalid. Of course, the fifth, seventh and eighth parliamentary elections enhanced democratic credibility and generated hope among the voters about establishing democracy in Bangladesh. However, the lingering political unrest, mistrust and uncertainties stand to be serious limiting factors in establishing democracy in Bangladesh. It is in this context that Bangladesh awaited the ninth parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2007 and then rescheduled for December 2009 due to political unrest.

There are many conditions that shape the fledgling politics and democratic institutions of a country like Bangladesh. The free flow of information is one such condition that can be strengthened by research, documentation and investigative reporting on politics, candidates who contest in the elections, irregularities that take place during election times in violation of electoral laws, code of conduct, and so on. With this in mind the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) updated and published the third edition of The Reporter’s Guide: Handbook on Election Reporting.

The handbook, which was first published in 1995, then 2001 and the most recent edition in 2006, has turned out to be a useful guide for reporters, election monitors and researchers. An update to the third edition of the handbook was published in December 2008 to provide information and facts that have developed since January 2007, including Laws Regulating Elections in Bangladesh. The Bangla version of the third edition was published in 2008 and includes the update.

The handbook also puts together relevant contacts and their telephone numbers that may be helpful for reporters and election observers to quickly locate different sources of information.

Publication Details

Published: 2006 (3rd edition)
Language: English
Paperback: 380 pages

Published: 2008 (3rd edition with update)
Language: Bangla
Paperback: 346 pages

Editor: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.300 / US$15

Update Published: 2008
Language: English
Paperback: 90 pages
Editor: Philip Gain
Price: Tk.100 / US$5