The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Awami League yesterday decided to seek recommendations from local leaders about candidates for general election which will be submitted to the central committee within November 9 for taking the final decision.

Briefing reporters after the party's central working committee meeting, acting general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said the local leaders would pick and choose five promising candidates through a meeting of the extended committee to be attended by leaders of union, thana, upazila and district units.

He said the party's central working committee would finalize the candidates from those names on November 9 to field them for the crucial battle of ballots across the country in a changed context.

Ashraful said aspirants could buy the nomination forms for Tk 7,500 each from the party's central office at Bangabandhu Avenue from yesterday to November 7.

He said one copy of nomination form and a receipt would be given to the candidate who will win the party ticket for exhibiting it to his upazila or thana committee.

The meeting was presided over by AL presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury at Dhanmondi office. The next meeting will be held on November 7 which will be presided over by party-chief Sheikh Hasina, after her homecoming from America.

Asked about their proposed grand election alliance, Ashraful said the process of forming the meg-coalition remained at discussion level and it would be finalized on Sheikh Hasina's return.

He asked the government to lift the state of emergency fully ahead of the polls and defer the upazila polls to reasonable time-limit.

"The scheduled date for the upazila polls is not logical. We will meet the Election Commission and the government to pursue our demand," he said.