Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Wednesday told European Union Ambassador William Hanna that Bangladesh, for the first time, was going to hold its national elections 90 days ahead of the completion of its five-year tenure.
Shirin was clarifying the constitutional provisions for holding the polls to a six-member Election Exploratory Mission of the EU.
The speaker, a lawyer by profession, told Hanna that the 10th parliamentary polls must take place between October 24 and January 24 next year.
The delegation called on her at her parliament office to have a discussion about sending international observer missions to monitor the polls.
“The previous elections took place 90 days after the expiry of its five-year tenure but this time we are going to see polls 90 days before the end of the mandated five-year. So, there could be some questions over the polls,” the speaker told reporters after the meeting. “But once it takes place, the questions will be over,” she said.
In line with the report of the exploratory mission, the EU would decide whether they would send observer missions to assess the polls in Bangladesh.
The international polls observer missions in late 2006 withdrew as the then interim government, amid huge street violence, was arranging polls which all the political parties except the BNP and its allies had announced to boycott.
Shirin said the present Election Commission had conducted over 5,000 polls including five city polls.
“They did very well; so they should take the lead in the monitoring of the upcoming polls,” said the speaker.
Ambassador Hanna told the waiting reporters that his team had very fruitful meeting with the EC but he did not say anything in details.