The Election Commission may announce the schedule for the first phase of Union Parishad (UP) elections this month, with voting likely to be held either before or after students’ annual examinations, Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarker said on Sunday.
“You will see many developments this month, and we will be able to say many things specifically,” he told reporters at the Election Commission headquarters in Dhaka when asked about the election schedule.
He said the Union Parishad elections would be the starting point for the next round of local government elections.
The commissioner said the EC was taking the academic calendar into account while planning the first phase of UP polls, as November and December are particularly important for students and busy periods for teachers.
“There are annual examinations, scholarship examinations and then test examinations. We have to keep these examinations in consideration,” he said.
Polling centres for the local government elections will mainly be set up at educational institutions, while teachers will serve as presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers.
“We have to consider the matter seriously so that examinations and elections do not take place at the same time,” Anwarul Islam said.
The EC plans to expand the use of technology to enhance security during the local government elections, he said.
The commission is considering placing all polling centres under CCTV surveillance and increasing the use of body-worn cameras, according to the commissioner.
Drones will also be deployed to provide the EC with real-time information from different locations and help law-enforcement agencies respond more quickly, he said.
The commission will also take steps to tackle false information and misinformation during the elections.
Asked about Jamaat-e-Islami’s proposal to prevent political office-bearers from contesting non-party local government elections, Anwarul Islam declined to comment.
Jamaat has submitted a nine-point set of demands regarding the local polls. Its demands include allowing MPO-listed teachers to contest and barring office-bearers of the banned Awami League from taking part in the elections.
Asked whether office-bearers of banned political organisations would be eligible to contest, Anwarul Islam said local government elections must be held on a non-partisan basis.
“Local government elections have to be held non-partisan. Is there an opportunity for us to say anything about this? There is no opportunity to say so,” he said.
On whether MPO-listed teachers should be allowed to contest, Anwarul Islam said their neutrality could be questioned if they simultaneously contest elections and serve as polling officials.
He said the EC had therefore recommended amendments to the relevant election law.
The commissioner also said the schedule for the by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 constituency would be announced soon.
“We are ready to hold the election. We are also preparing for IT-supported postal voting there. Hopefully, we will be able to announce the schedule within a few days,” he said.
