Local govt elections unlikely before June: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin today (24 February) said holding local government elections before next June is unlikely, as the voter list update programme is still ongoing.
"The Local Government Reform Commission has suggested that holding the elections in June is only possible under the condition that the voter list still includes 16 lakh deceased voters, and 35 lakh new voters are not included in the list for the elections," he said at an event held at the ETI Building in the capital.
Regarding the reform commission's observation, he also said, "I have no comments on this matter. There is a political debate going on regarding this issue, and the Election Commission does not wish to get involved. Let the voter list be updated first."
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The CEC further said if the next national elections are to be held in December, the election schedule must be announced in October.
"We need to declare the schedule at least two months ahead of the election," he also added.
He said preparations, including updating the voter list, are underway and will be completed by June. "If the voter list is not properly updated, we will see the same situation as before – people coming to vote from their graves."
"I was surprised to learn that nearly 17 lakh deceased voters have already been removed from the list. These are the same 'voters' the media reported as casting ballots from their graves. This number is expected to increase further," said the CEC.
He also noted that several pending applications regarding constituency delimitation remain unresolved due to legal complexities.
"A proposal has already been submitted to the government to amend the law and address these issues," he added.
The CEC said the commission has taken initiatives to implement the necessary reforms for a fair election.
In response to a question about whether holding the national elections is possible under the current law and order situation, the CEC said they believe the situation will stabilise by December.
