Advisers won’t be allowed to contest JS polls while holding office: EC
No member of the interim government’s advisory council will be allowed to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections while holding office, Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah has said.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting on election preparations on Sunday, December 7, EC Sanaullah confirmed that the restriction applies to all advisers currently serving in the council.
He also announced that the schedule for the 13th parliamentary elections will be released within the week, after which the Election Commission’s official preparatory activities will begin.
“A letter will be sent to Bangladesh Television tomorrow for recording the schedule announcement,” he added.
Sanaullah said that two ballots – the parliamentary election and the referendum – will be conducted on the same day, with election materials delivered to centres the night before. Assuring transparency, he stated: “No incident like night voting will happen.” He further clarified that private bank officials will not be assigned election duties this time.
As part of the new voting arrangements, the EC has decided to extend polling hours by one hour. “Voting will start at 7:30am and continue until 4:30pm,” he said. If space becomes an issue, multiple secret voting booths may be installed in a single room.
After the schedule is announced, candidates and parties will get 48 hours to remove all pre-existing campaign materials, failing which action will be taken under the electoral code of conduct.
On postal ballots, the commissioner said registration will remain open for 15 days following the schedule announcement.
He acknowledged ongoing discussions about domestic postal ballot management and warned election officials against taking any form of advantage from local individuals while on duty.
Sanaullah also noted that the Election Commission has requested the necessary budget from the government and will hold a Zoom meeting on Monday with regional and district election officers to review the next steps.