Dhaka, Sep 15 (V7N)- The Election Commission (EC) has not yet finalized the schedule for the upcoming Union Parishad elections, EC Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar said.
He told reporters on Tuesday (September 15) that the schedule would be finalized at an inter-ministerial meeting scheduled for Thursday (September 17).
The clarification came after State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said earlier Tuesday that the government had not been consulted about the EC’s proposed seven-phase election schedule.
Mir Shahe Alam acknowledged that the EC is an independent institution with constitutional authority to conduct elections. However, he said there had been no correspondence or discussion between the government and the Commission regarding the schedule announced for the Union Parishad elections.
Meanwhile, EC official Brigadier General (Retd.) Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah announced on Monday that the Commission had reached a preliminary decision to hold the Union Parishad elections in seven phases.
According to the tentative plan, the first phase is scheduled for November 12, followed by the second and third phases on December 13 and December 30, respectively.
The proposed dates for the remaining phases are January 17, February 4, April 22 and May 27 next year for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases, respectively.
The final schedule will be determined following discussions at the upcoming inter-ministerial meeting.
END/SMA/AJ
