Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A M M Nasir Uddin has expressed hope that the upcoming local government elections will be better than previous ones, despite several challenges.
He made the remarks while responding to journalists after a dialogue titled “Strategic Leadership for Bangladesh’s Local Government Elections”, organised by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) at the Electoral Training Institute (ETI) in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Monday.
Other election commissioners, Senior Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat and senior officials were present at the event.
The CEC said the Election Commission (EC) had no shortcomings in its preparations and would not fall below the standards set in previous elections.
“Rather, we will try to improve further,” he said.
Regarding the election schedule, Nasir Uddin said the dates could not be announced yet as the commission would decide after discussions with the government.
He said some laws and regulations related to local government elections were being amended, which would require some time. The EC had already completed its work on the necessary amendments and sent them to the ministry for vetting, he added.
The CEC said holding elections depended not only on the EC’s preparations but also on the readiness of law enforcement agencies and other relevant bodies responsible for field-level monitoring and security.
He said local government elections were different from national elections and had historically witnessed more violence. Therefore, the role of law enforcement agencies, including police and other forces, would be more important in maintaining law and order during the upcoming polls.
Nasir Uddin said several factors, including Durga Puja, possible monsoon and flood situations, annual examinations at educational institutions and the deployment of teachers and officials for election duties, would be considered while fixing the election schedule.
He said the elections would be held at an appropriate time after coordinating all these factors, though the commission did not want unnecessary delays.
Regarding the Thakurgaon-1 constituency by-election, the CEC said it would be completed within the legally required 90-day period and that the commission was working accordingly.
