The Election Commission, led by the chief election commissioner, AMM Nasir Uddin, has held a meeting with the acting speaker of the national parliament, Barrister Kaiser Kamal. The meeting took place at 11am on Tuesday at the acting speaker’s office in the national parliament. Commission sources said the discussion was held ahead of the election of the country’s 23rd president.
After the meeting the chief election commissioner told journalists that the presidential election had been discussed in detail. The commission is ready for the election, he said; a date has not yet been fixed.
The chief election commissioner said a new president must be elected. The relevant law provides for the date to be fixed in consultation with the speaker of the national parliament before the election, he said, and the Election Commission had therefore met the acting speaker. The election will be held one way if parliament is in session and there is another arrangement if it is not. Preliminary discussion on this had been held in detail, he said, but the date of the election has not yet been finalised. It will be announced once it is settled.
The chief election commissioner said the acting speaker had been informed that the Election Commission is fully ready for the presidential election. The parliament secretariat will provide the voter list for the election, and the commission has written to it accordingly.
He said: “There was no discussion at the meeting about the Satkhira-4 member of parliament, Gazi Nazrul Islam. If the parliament secretariat asks for steps to be taken on that seat, the commission will act.”
The election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Anwarul Islam Sarkar and Tahmida Ahmed were among those present at the meeting.
A letter signed by the senior secretary of the Election Commission secretariat, Akhtar Ahmed, was sent to the parliament secretary on the matter on Monday. The letter said President Md Sahabuddin resigned from his post on Friday. Under the provisions of clause 2 of article 123 of the constitution, an election must be held to fill the office of president within 90 days of it falling vacant through resignation.
Under the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 5 of the Presidential Election Act, 1991, the Election Commission must announce the schedule for the presidential election by notification in the official gazette in consultation with the speaker. The letter requested that necessary arrangements be made for the chief election commissioner to meet the speaker at a convenient date and time fixed by the speaker.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report