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Download PDF The government has decided to allocate Tk 425 crore in the next budget for holding elections to parliament and local government bodies while the Election Commission (EC) sought Tk 570 crore for the job.
The EC sought Tk 250 crore for holding the stalled ninth parliamentary election, Tk 100.50 crore for elections to upazila parishads, Tk 200.50 crore for union parishads, Tk 12 crore for city corporations and Tk 2.10 crore for polls to municipalities.
But the finance ministry agreed to allocate Tk 425 crore, sources in the EC Secretariat said.
The ministry however assured the EC of providing more funds if it needs after spending the amount to be allocated in the budget for fiscal 2008-09.
Moreover, the finance ministry is to allocate over Tk 100 crore in the next budget to meet the EC’s administrative expenditures from central to field level.
Senior officials of the ministry and the EC Secretariat at a meeting last month finalised the election budget for next fiscal year, the sources said.
According to the electoral roadmap announced by the EC on July 15 last year, parliamentary election will be held by the year-end and long over due polls to upazila parishads any time in November- December this year.
Besides, the EC will have to hold elections to over 4,000 union parishads immediately after parliamentary election as their tenure will expire.
The estimated expenditure for holding the ninth parliamentary election increased by over Tk 100 crore as Tk 146 crore was already spent for the election, which was finally suspended just 10 days ahead of the scheduled polling.
Officials of the EC Secretariat said expenditure for holding the polls would increase mainly due to price hike of materials, increase in the number of voters and polling stations and engagement of more manpower in the polls process.
Of the estimated expenditure, a significant amount will be spent for security forces to ensure law and order on the election day and before and after it, the officials said.
This is for the first time that the EC Secretariat is going to have a budgetary allocation with financial autonomy to spend the funds as per its needs, without seeking approval from the finance ministry.
The caretaker government last month freed the EC Secretariat from control of the Prime Minister’s Office (now chief adviser’s office), giving it financial autonomy.
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