Recording of CEC speech on election schedule this afternoon: EC secy
The CEC will likely sit with the election commissioners to discuss all matters and then decide when to announce the schedule, he says
The Election Commission (EC) will record a speech by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at 4pm today (10 December), ahead of announcing the schedule for the 13th national election and the planned referendum, Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has said.
"The CEC's speech will be recorded at 4pm today. He will likely sit with the election commissioners to discuss all matters and then decide when to announce the schedule," he told reporters at the EC office in Agargaon when asked about the timing.
"Once I know the decision, I will inform you," he added.
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Referring to the EC's discussion with the president, Akhtar Ahmed said, "One of the issues the CEC informed him about was the voter list. He said the voter roll had been updated from January to 31 October. The president was also briefed on the latest status of political party registrations."
"Since both the parliamentary election and the referendum will be held on the same day, the president asked how we plan to conduct them, how the ballot papers are being prepared, what their colours will be, and how they will be handed to voters. He also wanted to know how much time we used during the mock voting and the method of counting," he said.
"After we briefed him in detail, he expressed satisfaction. He also appreciated our decision to extend the voting time by one hour," the secretary added.
He said the meeting also included a discussion on postal voting. "We briefed the president in detail about out-of-country voting and in-country postal ballots. He was very pleased and told us the Election Commission is moving in the right direction."
"He said he would extend all necessary support and cooperation for a good, fair, and meaningful election – and more if needed," he added.
