The Election Commission is having trouble completing preparations for the next parliamentary elections as most of the important tasks, including registration of new political parties and holding dialogues with parties, are still incomplete.
The EC is yet to achieve a few other of its 2012 roadmap targets, such as preparing the electoral code of conduct, the procedure for conducting polls, purchasing equipment and sending voter lists to its offices across the country, sources at the commission told the Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday.
The EC Secretariat has prepared a list of these incomplete tasks, which it will present at a meeting of the commission on Wednesday.
EC Secretary Dr Mohammad Sadik on Sunday asked officials concerned to complete the tasks as soon as possible.
The EC has fixed new timeframes also for making CDs of voter lists, collecting donations for the election process through the UNDP, preparing the draft of polling centres, procuring election materials, and training officials.
It has decided in principle to print the list of around 92 million voters at the Army Printing Press at a cost of about Tk69m, but before going to printing the commission will take consent from its legal wing.
In line with the constitution, the next parliamentary elections must be held between October 27 and January 24 next year. The EC has planned to announce the polls schedule in the last week of November and hold the elections mid-January, EC officials said.
Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz said the commission was making preparations to hold the next elections within 90 days before expiry of the current parliament’s tenure and it would announce the polls schedule keeping 40-45 days in hand.
The EC would follow the constitution for holding the elections, he added.
At a meeting with foreign diplomats on August 27, the commission sought their technical and financial assistance for completing its preparations for the general elections.
