Upazila polls schedule likely in a week

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The Election Commission (EC) will announce very soon the schedules for holding polls to upazila parishads and Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) towards the end of next month, the EC secretary said yesterday.

In line with its decision to start holding upazila polls from October 23, the EC might announce within a week the polls schedule ignoring political parties’ opposition to upazila elections before parliamentary polls, other sources in the EC said.

Most of the political parties invited to talks with the EC from next week are likely to protest holding of upazila polls next month, arguing that this would hamper holding of parliamentary election, planned for December.

The EC however might formally announce its stance on upazila elections after wrapping up talks with the political parties on their registration, sources said.

“The Election Commission has decided in principle to hold the upazila elections in between October 23 and 30. The election schedules are to be announced 42 to 45 days before the polling day. So, these will be announced very soon,” EC Secretary Humayun Kabir told reporters replying to a query.

In the first phase, polls will take place in over 200 upazilas out of 482 in two days. Polls to remaining upazila parishads will be held after parliamentary elections.

In the news briefing, he said schedule for the long due DCC polls will also be announced very soon as the polls will be held at the end of next month.

The final voter list for DCC areas with over 35 lakh voters was published yesterday. The EC will now begin printing it.

Asked if the worsening flood situation in many areas will hamper holding upazila elections next month, Humayun said the EC Secretariat has collected information about it. “We will submit a report to the commission so that it can decide where polls can be held.”

Meanwhile, major political parties including Awami League (AL) and BNP are opposing upazila polls before parliamentary elections.

The AL, which will sit for dialogue with the EC on September 9, has already decided to ask it to hold upazila polls in December and parliamentary polls in November.

Invited for talks with the EC on September 7, BNP has not yet decided whether to join the talks or not. But senior leaders of the party said if they take part in the talks, they will oppose upazila polls before parliamentary elections.

But BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain has formed a five- member committee headed by party standing committee member Chowdhury Tanveer Ahmed Siddiqui to draw up an agenda for the talks, party sources said.

EXPATRIATE VOTERS

The EC at an inter-ministerial meeting yesterday discussed ways to register Bangladesh citizens living abroad in the electoral rolls with photographs.

Officials present at the meeting said the EC asked them to send proposals to the law ministry to amend the electoral rolls ordinance paving the way for listing expatriate Bangladeshis as voters.

“It is difficult to say at this moment whether Bangladesh citizens living abroad can be registered as voters before the next parliamentary polls. But once the law is made, the way for expatriates to be registered as voters is cleared,” the EC secretary told reporters yesterday.

Proposals for amending the electoral rolls ordinance 2008 would be sent to the law ministry next week.

Officials of the ministries of law, foreign, home and expatriates welfare and overseas employment attended yesterday’s meeting held at the EC Secretariat.

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