Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz today said, if necessary, the Election Commission (EC) would amend the electoral code of conduct for the parliamentary elections before announcing the schedule, and would sit down with the political parties to discuss this matter.
“We will consider whether it is necessary to amend the electoral code of conduct for the next general elections or not. If needed, we will amend it before announcing the polls schedule,” he told reporters at the EC secretariat.
However, the commissioner said the EC is not currently working on amending the electoral code of conduct, as it already has one for the general elections.
When asked about preparing the electoral code of conduct as per the poll time government, Shah Newaz said: “The EC could amend the electoral code of conduct within a short time. We are prepared to hold the next parliamentary elections under any type of government.”
About the High Court verdict on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s party registration, he said the EC has yet to get a copy of the verdict and is trying to obtain it as soon as possible.
“We hoped that we would get the copy of the verdict within a week or two. The EC will work as per the observation of the HC,” he added.
Referring to the split Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) polls, the commissioner said: “We would make decisions as soon as possible about holding the split DCC elections. We have already reminded the local government and rural development ministry to delimit the demarcation of wards 55, 56 and 57 of Dhaka South City Corporation.”
About registrations of new political parties, Newaz said the EC would make the final decision at its next commission meeting.
