Election commission to finalise schedules for polls and referendum today
The meeting will be held at 10:30am today at the EC headquarters in Agargaon. Four election commissioners and the EC secretary will be present.
The Election Commission (EC) will sit today to review the schedules for the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum.
The meeting will be held at 10:30am today at the EC headquarters in Agargaon. Four election commissioners and the EC secretary will be present.
The schedules are expected to be announced in the second week of December, while both the parliamentary polls and the referendum are planned for the first half of February on the same day.
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The meeting will review proposals, including extending voting hours by one hour, and finalising the deadlines for nomination submissions, scrutiny, withdrawals, and the polling date. It will also finalise the timeline for transporting postal ballots, alongside reviewing overall progress in election preparations.
Ahead of announcing the schedules, the EC has already held law-and-order meetings and inter-ministerial meetings after completing the groundwork for the polls. As per tradition, the constitutional body responsible for elections will brief the President on its overall preparations at Bangabhaban on 10 December. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) will announce the schedules a few days later.
District commissioners, UNOs, SPs, OCs and other field-level administration as well as police officials have already undergone major reshuffles. After the schedule is announced, the EC will consider further changes if necessary.
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar said, "Sunday's commission meeting will decide the timetable for the schedule. After that, we will finalise it during our meeting with the Honourable President."
He added that once the schedule is announced, a gazette will also be issued naming the returning officers and assistant returning officers.
Various changes have been made in the laws, rules and guidelines this time.
The agenda includes ten items, notably activities before and after the schedule, preparations for holding the referendum, the overall readiness for the 13th parliamentary election, and issues related to maximum communication, coordination and consultation at the field level.
