The Election Commission will review the timeframe for holding Union Parishad elections in phases before finalizing the election schedule, said Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Thursday.
“We’ll review requests from different ministries and agencies concerned before finalizing the schedule for the Union Parishad elections. But everyone agreed that we need to finish the elections by June 6 next year,” he said.
The commissioner made the remarks while briefing reporters after an interministerial preparatory meeting on a parliamentary by-election and local government elections at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
The meeting began at 2:30pm with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the chair.
Senior representatives from more than 20 ministries and divisions, including the Armed Forces Division, law enforcement and intelligence agencies attended the meeting.
Sanaullah said the EC received a number of requests from the participants regarding the timing of the elections.
They requested us to consider that the annual examinations in schools will be held throughout November and December next, he said.
The commissioner said the EC would have some scope in January to arrange the local government elections and another window between the SSC and HSC examinations.
He said the SSC examinations will be held after Ramadan, while the HSC examinations will be held after June 6.
Regarding the tentative dates announced on Monday for the seven-phase UP elections, Sanaullah said, “We earlier said we will finalize the schedule after the September 17 meeting.”
Four election commissioners—Abdur Rahmanel Mashud, Begum Tahmida Ahmad, Anwarul Islam Sarker and Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah—and EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed were present at the meeting.
The Thakurgaon-1 by-election is scheduled to be held on October 29.
On Monday, the EC announced tentative dates for holding the countrywide Union Parishad elections in seven phases with the first phase planned for November 12.
However, two ministers and the prime minister’s advisers on Tuesday said the government was unaware of the tentative dates before the EC announced them.