The Election Commission (EC) plans to hold the much-awaited Dhaka South and North City Corporations elections along with that of the newly formed Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) on the same day.
The EC will decide whether to hold them before Ramadan or after Eid-ul Fitr at the next meeting likely to be held in the coming week, a senior EC official told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
There is no legal barrier to holding local government polls before the next parliamentary elections. The Election Commission will announce poll schedules after finalising plans at the meeting.
Primary preparations are already underway for the procurement of necessary equipment to hold polls for the three major city corporations, where limited use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a possibility.
On April 29, a High Court (HC) bench of Justice Nayma Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed ordered a three-month stay on the polls and gave the government four weeks to explain, “Why the demarcation of wards 28 and 29 of GCC should not be declared illegal”.
On Monday, the HC upheld its previous decision on the Gazipur City Corporation elections, but withdrew its stay order on holding polls for the two city corporations of Dhaka.
According to sources in the EC, concerned authorities have been asked to procure all necessary equipment such ballot paper and boxes.
The secretariat will place proposals for work plans at the next meeting of the commission before Ramadan, or after Eid.
Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz confirmed they would decide when to hold the DCC polls at the meeting. He said: “Today we received a copy of the HC verdict withdrawing the stay order on holding the split DCC polls. We have started primary preparations to hold the Dhaka South and Dhaka North city corporations’ elections.”
The EC will also sit with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and cooperatives to discuss about holding the split DCC elections.
Poll dates were originally scheduled for May 24, last year, but after a petition was submitted by Advocate Manzill Murshid the HC issued a three-month stay order due to confusions over voter lists and delineation of areas that fall under the two newly formed city corporations. Afterwards, the HC stay order was extended.
On January 7, the government created the Gazipur City Corporation, which is the 11th one to be formed in the country. According to the law, the newly formed city corporation’s election must be held within July 15 this year.
