We don't want to cross December deadline to hold national polls: CEC

The Election Commission (EC) does not intend to exceed the deadline for holding the national polls in December, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said today (10 March).

He made the remark while talking to reporters after a meeting with British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke at the EC headquarters in the capital this afternoon.

During the meeting, Sarah Cooke stated that the United Kingdom supports the consensus-building and reform process to ensure a fair and inclusive election environment.

In response to a question from journalists, Nasir Uddin said, "They primarily came to learn about our preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections—what stage we are at and the types of preparations underway."

He added, "Since there is a timeline—earliest in December—we are progressing with our preparations accordingly. If the election is to be held in December, the schedule must be announced in October. We are making preparations to ensure that we do not miss that timeline."

Mentioning that the British high commissioner inquired about the preparations, the CEC said, "They want to assist the commission and have also inquired about election observers. We have shared all the details of our ongoing activities, including voter registration and an upcoming notification for party registration. We are also proceeding with procurement. Some tasks require six to seven months, so we have already initiated them."

The CEC further stated that the policies regarding election observers will be reviewed. 

"While the foreign observer policy may not need changes, the local observer policy will be revised. The process of appointing observers will begin in due time," he added. 

He further said the British high commissioner expressed satisfaction after learning about the EC's progress.