Bangladesh News

The Election Commission (EC) yesterday extended the deadline for filing nominations for parliamentary and upazila elections.

It will now stop accepting nomination papers for both the polls on November 20. In the original schedules unveiled on November 2, the closing date was November 13.

The dates for scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations too were rescheduled.

Secretary to the EC Secretariat Humayun Kabir announced the changes at a press briefing at the commission premises.

He said, “The time limit has been extended following requests from returning officers (ROs) and aspirant candidates for more time to complete submission of nomination papers.”

As the polling days–December 18 for parliamentary and December 28 for upazila– remain unchanged, the rescheduling means a cut in the electioneering period.

Awami League (AL) has welcomed the changes, but BNP and its alliance partners dismissed those as ‘mere eyewash’.

According to the new timetable, nominations for the general election will be scrutinised on November 23 and 24, and those for upazila election on November 25-27. In the original plan, the dates for scrutiny were November 16 and 17 and November 19 and 20.

The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the parliamentary polls now is November 29, instead of November 24. The ROs will allocate electoral symbols on November 30.

The contestants will be allowed to start electioneering once they are allotted the symbols.

Had the deadline for withdrawal of nominations remained unchanged, the candidates could launch campaigns on November 25.

Now they will have to wait till November 30.

According to the rearrangements, the last date for withdrawal of candidature in upazila election is December 3 in place of November 27.

The candidates will not be able to start campaigns until the ROs allocate them symbols on December 4.

As per the earlier schedule, they could begin canvassing on November 28.

Asked if the upazila polls would be deferred in response to the political parties’ demand, the EC secretary replied in the negative.

Despite the changes in polls schedules, the commission has apparently failed to cheer the BNP-led four-party alliance.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said, “They [EC] have announced the changes at whim. We don’t accept those. This all is juggling of figures.”

Abdul Latif Nezami, secretary general of Islami Oikya Jote, told The Daily Star yesterday that since the alliance’s seven-point demand has not yet been met, the elections ought to be put back.

Contacted, Bangladesh Jatiya Party Chairman Andaleev Rahman Partha said these changes do not make much of a difference.