Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has said that the schedule for the national parliamentary elections must be announced in October if the elections are to be held in December.
He made the statement on Monday during the inauguration of the newly elected committee and the farewell ceremony of the outgoing committee of the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at the ITI building in the capital.
Indicating that local government elections might not be possible by June, AMM Nasir Uddin stated, "Our target is the national election in December. Therefore, we need to announce the schedule about two months in advance."
Regarding the Local Government Reform Commission's observation that all local government elections could be held by June, he said, "The Reform Commission has suggested that this is possible in June, but only if 1.6 million deceased voters are not removed and if the election is conducted without 3.5 million new voters." He added that the voter list update would be completed by June.
The CEC emphasised that the Reform Commission’s comments reflect their perspective. "They are wise and knowledgeable people, and I have no comment on that. There is a political debate on this matter, and the Election Commission does not want to get involved. Let the voter list be completed first."
He stated that they do not wish to make any premature comments and are proceeding with preparations as per the Chief Adviser’s announcement. "If the national election is to be held in December, the schedule must be announced in October."
Nasir Uddin mentioned that the commission is working on creating the voter list and making other preparations. Several boundary determination applications are pending due to legal complexities, and the commission has already proposed amendments to the law to the government. "These steps would have been necessary even without the formation of the Reform Commission."
The CEC further stated that the Election Commission is taking steps to implement the necessary reforms for holding a fair election.