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Project Name: Beyond the Ballot: Strengthening Transparency and Inclusion in Bangladesh’s Democratic Process

Project Partner: National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

Project Duration: November 2025 to October 2026

Project Summary:

The project aims to strengthen democratic accountability, political transparency, and inclusive participation around Bangladesh’s 2026 national election. The project has been implemented in two phases. The first phase focused on pre-election dialogue. During this phase, CGS collected and analyzed political parties’ opinions, commitments, and positions under eight thematic areas: minorities and inclusive citizenship, law enforcement and national security, judiciary and rule of law, economy and anti-corruption, human rights and freedom of expression, foreign policy, women’s leadership and gender equality, and transparency and governance mechanisms. This thematic approach allowed CGS to assess how different political parties addressed key governance and democratic issues through their manifestos, public statements, and commitments made during dialogues. In this phase, CGS organized 13 roundtable discussions in total, including eight multi-party dialogues in Dhaka on key governance issues and four minority-focused roundtables, of which two were held in Rangpur and Sylhet and two in Dhaka. CGS also conducted a nationwide mixed-methods study on minority political participation, collecting 500 survey responses, conducting 10 Key Informant Interviews, and reviewing secondary sources.

The second phase focuses on post-election accountability through the Pledge Tracker website, an evidence-based digital platform that monitors whether pre-election commitments made by ruling and opposition parties are translated into action. The Tracker assesses pledges using official records, parliamentary proceedings, policy documents, public statements, government decisions, and credible media sources.

Through dialogue, research, and continuous monitoring, the project seeks to keep political promises visible, measurable, and open to public scrutiny, contributing to a more accountable, inclusive, and responsive democratic system in Bangladesh.

Find our monthly report here: https://www.bdpledgetracker.com/monthly-report