The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The Election Commission will sit with the government and request creating an environment conducive to conducting the elections before announcing schedule for local-body polls shortly.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain yesterday said the EC is expecting the draft rules of the local-body laws to be finalized within next 10 to 12 days as they have already sent those to the Law Ministry.

"We'll sit with the government before announcing the election schedule (of city corporations and municipalities)… We'll request the government to create such an environment as is required for conducting the elections and electioneering of the contesting candidates," he told reporters at his office in the afternoon.

Earlier on May 18, the Election Commissioner said poll schedules for Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal City Corporations and the nine municipalities would be announced in the first week of June.

Sakhawat said the EC has proposed in the draft rules that as personal expenditure, the mayoral candidates in city- corporation elections could spend Tk 75,000 each for five- lakh voters, Tk 100,000 for more than five lakh to 10 lakh voters, Tk 150,000 for more than 10 lakh to 20 lakh voters and Tk 200,000 for more than 20 lakh voters.

As electoral expenditure that would be spent through the candidates' election agents, the mayor candidates could spend Tk 500,000 for five-lakh voters, Tk 700,000 for more than five lakh to 10 lakh voters, Tk 1,000,000 for more than 10 lakh to 20 lakh voters and Tk 1,500,000 for more than 20 lakh voters.