The deadline for new voter registration to be eligible to vote in the upcoming national election has been extended from June 30 to July 31, the Election Commission (EC) has said.
Speaking at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon on Thursday, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said officials had prepared a timeline outlining when each election-related task must be completed, including the preparation of the voter list.
"The officials have given us a chart showing which tasks need to be completed and by when, including the timeline for preparing the voter list. We have amended the voter list law, although it may not have been officially published yet. Some parts may be published later. Up to the cut-off date determined under the amended law, we will be able to include new voters in the electoral roll, and they will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election," he said.
Masud said the original deadline had been June 30, but election officials requested additional time.
"It was June 30. Later, they asked us to extend it slightly, so we decided to extend the deadline to July 31. We had already discussed internally that we could manage registrations until July 31," he said.
He added that if the election is held in October, extending the registration period would not create any difficulties.
"The officials responsible for the process have assured us that it is feasible, and we are satisfied with that. They have also prepared a list identifying how many additional polling centers may be required," he added.
