Election Commissioner (EC) Md Anwarul Islam Sarker on Thursday said the Election Commission is expecting to hold the local government elections next January.
"We hope the elections will be held next January. We are considering keeping a gap of 40 to 45 days from the date of the possible election schedule. Our plan may be communicated to you accordingly," he said.
He made the remarks while talking to journalists at his office at the Election Commission Building in Agargaon in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
Anwarul said the Election Commission is considering holding the elections after November-December to avoid disrupting the public examinations and ensure that students can sit for their exams smoothly and in an orderly manner.
"The annual examinations are generally held in November-December," he said, adding that the election schedule would be fixed accordingly.
Replying to a question, he said: "We can say that the local government elections will not begin in November-December. Considering the annual examinations and other matters during November-December, we see no opportunity to hold the elections during this period at this stage."
Anwarul said the Election Commission is considering a timeline to complete the local government (Union Parishad) elections by June 6 next year. If all the cases are settled by then, the number of Union Parishads will increase further, he said.
He added that even if elections to around 5,000 Union Parishads are held in phases, the number in each phase would be quite large.
"We hope that once the examinations are completed by December, we will be able to hold the local government elections around January," he said.
