Dhaka, Aug 07 (V7N)- The Election Commission (EC) Secretariat has published the list of voters for the upcoming presidential election. A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening.
According to the law, members of parliament are the only eligible voters in Bangladesh’s presidential election. The electoral college consists of 300 elected MPs and 50 reserved women MPs.
However, the voter list published by the EC includes 349 eligible voters for this election.
The number has been reduced from the full 350-member electoral college due to a vacancy in the Chattogram-4 constituency. BNP candidate Aslam Chowdhury, who won the seat in the February 12 election, could not take the oath of office following a court order. Later, on June 30, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court canceled his candidacy over a loan default issue, leaving the constituency without a sitting MP.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the presidential election on Thursday afternoon.
According to the schedule, voting will be held on August 20 if there is more than one candidate. The voting will take place at the Jatiya Sangsad session hall from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Election officials said that traditionally, the candidate nominated by the ruling party often wins the presidential election uncontested, meaning voting is not required if there is only one valid candidate.
In such a scenario, the new president may be elected on August 16 after the completion of the nomination process.
As per the announced schedule, nomination papers can be submitted on August 13 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The nomination papers will be scrutinized on August 16, while the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is August 18. If required, the election will be held on August 20.
END/SMA/AJ
