The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Schedules for both the upazila and parliamentary elections would be announced simultaneously in the first week of November, also setting the same last date for filing nomination for the two races.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain disclosed the EC plan yesterday. "Schedules for upazila and parliamentary polls will be announced on the same day," he told reporters replying to a question at his office.

Sakhawat Hossain said the last date for submitting nomination papers for both the parliamentary and upazila elections would be the same and scrutiny of the nominations might be completed within a day or two.

He informed that the Election Commission has a plan to extend the number of polling centers during the parliamentary elections. "There are normally 35,000 polling centers in the country and 10 percent of them will be increased during the parliamentary polls," he said.

The Election Commissioner said the commission is thinking about extending the polling centers as the queues of voters were found larger during the last elections held on August 4, and also daytime in December is accounted smaller.

"We assume that the voters' numbers can be found greater during the parliamentary elections," he said.

Replying to a query, he said the final voter list of all areas of the country would reach the Election Commission between October 12 and 16.

About the contentious delimitation, Sakhawat said the hearing on the delimitation of the parliamentary seats would be held on September 29.

Replying to a question, the Election Commissioner said the upazila elections would be held on December 24 and 28 across the country but declined to say whether the local polls would be political or not. "I can't say this," he said, adding that the voting centers for both the parliamentary and upazila elections would be the same."

Sakhawat said the transparent ballot boxes would be used in the parliamentary elections and the non-transparent (steel) boxes during the upazila elections. "There are over 3 lakh steel ballot boxes in the country," he said.

He said the polling centers that would be closed for unwanted reasons must be open during the upazila polls after investigating the incidence by the election officers concerned. "The Commission has a plan to open these centers if there is no complication found."

Sakhawat informed that the Election Commission is going to introduce postal ballot, especially for people like polling and presiding officers who get involved with the conduct of election. "There'll be arrangement for 3 to 3.5 lakh postal ballots in the commission."

He, however, said only the petitioners would be able to cast their vote through the postal ballot and the voting papers would have to be posted 3 or 4 days before the election date. "The returning officers will open these postal ballots reached by 4pm during the election dates," he said.