There is no scope to hold union parishad elections in November and December because of annual school examinations, various public examinations and the workload of law enforcement agencies, election commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker has said. Voting is being considered to begin in January, with the schedule announced 40 to 45 days beforehand, possibly in November, he said. He spoke to journalists at his office in Nirbachan Bhaban on Thursday.
In the Election Commission’s initial plan, the possible dates for union parishad voting, fitted around the examinations, were: first phase November 12, second phase December 13, third phase December 30, fourth phase January 17 next year, fifth phase February 4, sixth phase April 22 and seventh phase May 27. But at an inter-ministerial meeting, the government advised against holding polls in November and December because of the examinations. The commission’s election plan is changing as a result.
Claiming that the constitutional body is under no pressure of any kind from the government, election commissioner Anwarul Islam said the likely timing of the vote was being pushed back in view of the reality and with students in mind.
“There are annual examinations and other matters in November and December, and we see no scope for voting then. Annual exams are usually held in November and December. We hope that once the public examinations end in December, we will be able to hold the vote around January, inshallah,” he said. After the inter-ministerial meeting, everyone agreed to finish union parishad voting by June 6, he said.
Asked whether it would be possible to complete voting in about 4,500 union parishads if it began in January, the commissioner said the commission would decide after considering Ramadan, the SSC and HSC examinations and all other factors.
“We have spoken of possible dates; nothing is final. This is a timeline we have thought about; the specific dates will come when the schedule is announced,” Anwarul Islam said.
Asked whether the commission had retreated from its plan for union parishad voting under government pressure, he said: “Many people will say many things. Not at all. Our plan has changed a little in light of the real situation, to make sure the studies of millions of students are not disrupted.”
Members of law enforcement agencies are deployed during public examinations, so it is difficult to hold elections at that time, he said. The commission’s announced timing has been changed in view of the reality.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report