The Election Commission has decided to take the initiative to sit with the political parties to fix the date for the next parliamentary polls and ensuring their participation in the elections.
“We hope that all the registered political parties will participate in the next parliamentary elections. If needed, we will sit with them before announcing the date for holding a free, fair and credible election in the country,” Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz told reporters at the EC Secretariat on Sunday.
The commissioner also said it would have to be the parties themselves who would have to decide the kind of the poll-time government.
According to the constitution, national elections should be held within 90 days of the incumbent elected government stepping down from power.
The tenure of the Awami League government is supposed to end in the last week of October and on that count, polls should be held sometime between October and January next year.
Shah Newaz said the EC would follow the constitution for holding the next parliamentary elections.
When asked whether the prime minister had violated the electoral code of conduct by already starting to campaign for the forthcoming elections, the commissioner said the EC had nothing to do with it until the poll schedule was announced.
Recently, opposition spokesperson Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir has alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has breached the code of electoral conduct by campaigning for the elections using state facilities.
Claiming that the EC was confident regarding the polls, the commissioner expressed hope that all parties would participate.
Shah Newaz said non-amendment of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) was not an impediment for the EC in the holding of free and fair elections.
On July 25, the EC sent a proposal to the law ministry suggesting several amendments to the RPO, including not allowing rebel candidates and those indicted for war crimes to take part in polls.
