Representatives of civil society in Bangladesh have warned that a fair election will be impossible without visible improvement in the law and order situation. Speaking at a roundtable titled “Fair Election and Democratic Transition: Citizens’ Thoughts” held at the Chattogram Parishad auditorium on Sunday, they said the failure to recover illegal weapons, the rise of mob violence, and corruption within the administration have worsened the situation, exposing government shortcomings.

The event was organized by Sujan (Citizens for Good Governance) Chattogram as part of a democratic strengthening initiative. Speakers noted that the public expectations from the July movement were frustrated, and administrative anarchy has endangered citizens’ safety. They cautioned that holding elections under such conditions would be highly risky and expressed concern about the upcoming referendum.

Speakers added that the government had formed six commissions and received nearly a thousand proposals, of which 166 were presented and consensus reached on 84. Forty-eight of these proposals require constitutional amendments to be decided through a public referendum. They emphasized building consensus on elections, reforms, and the referendum to ensure democratic progress.