EC to announce national election schedule on 11 Dec; polls, referendum on 8, 11 or 12 Feb
Three possible dates were reviewed during discussions among EC officials: 5, 8, and 12 February.
The upcoming national election and referendum will be likely be held on 8, 11 or 12 February next year, according to Election Commission sources.
The sources said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin is expected to announce the schedule on 11 December, through an address to the nation.
EC officials have already begun discussions on finalising the polling date, a source said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Three possible dates were reviewed during these discussions: 5, 8, and 12 February. Of these, 5 and 12 February fall on Thursdays, while 8 February is a Sunday.
The EC is set to hold a commission meeting this Sunday (7 December) to discuss the announcement of the national election schedule.
Sixty days is not mandatory. It could be 58 or even 62 days. The idea was to keep it roughly close to 60 days
As per tradition, the Election Commission finalises the schedule after a meeting with the president, and that meeting, will likely be held on 10 December.
When asked, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahman Masud said that the latest amendments to the Representation of the People Order, 1972, have also been approved, and all preparations have been completed.
He added that the election schedule will be announced after the meeting with the president.
Additionally, Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar told The Business Standard that the schedule will be announced within the second week of this month, and the national election will be held in the second week of February.
Earlier, the commission had stated that the election schedule would be announced 60 days prior the voting day.
Responding to a question regarding this, Abdur Rahman Masud told TBS, "Sixty days is not mandatory. It could be 58 or even 62 days. The idea was to keep it roughly close to 60 days."
Plan to extend voting hours
As the national election and the referendum will be held on the same day, more time may be needed for voters to cast their ballots. For this reason, the Election Commission is considering extending the voting period by one hour. Usually, voting takes place from 8am to 4pm. This time, however, the plan is to hold voting from 7:30am to 4:30pm.
EC Anwarul Islam Sarkar said, "This matter will be finalised at the commission meeting. The meeting will be held next Sunday."
He added that the commission is also expected to decide on the schedule date during that meeting.
Meanwhile, regarding the meeting between the Chief Adviser's Office and the EC, sources at the CA Office said the commission is an entirely independent body. According to regulations, it alone will announce the election schedule and date.
Therefore, although there may be internal discussions, the government cannot formally disclose the date before the official schedule is issued. However, given the current situation, 8 February appears to be the most likely polls' date.
Regarding post-election procedures, the CAO official said the publication of the official gazette of results may take up to two days. Once the gazette is published, the political party or alliance winning the majority of parliamentary seats will be invited to form the then government.
