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CEC rules out further rescheduling of polls

FE Report | November 14, 2018 00:00:00


Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda turned down on Tuesday any possibility of further rescheduling the upcoming general election.

The electoral regulator on Monday deferred the polls by a week for December 30.

"There is no chance of further deferring the polls as new government must be formed by January 29… We've to work hard over the December 30 voting," Mr Huda said.

He made this assertion while addressing the returning officers of the 11th parliamentary polls at the Election Commission (EC) secretariat in the capital.

Deputy commissioners will act as returning officers in the election.

The CEC cited a major Christian festival on December 25 and the first phase of Biswa Ijtema on January 11 as the logics behind the revised schedule.

"So, December 30 is the perfect time for holding the general election," he mentioned.

The statement was made on the day as Jatiya Oikyafront, an alliance of opposition parties, decided to visit the EC with a plea to further delay the election.

Mr Huda urged the officers to act fairly and treat all the candidates by the same token as the election will be keenly observed locally and internationally.

Terming the election a challenge for them, he said this is going to be held in a different circumstance.

"For the first time in the history of Bangladesh, the general election is going to take place under a government. The atmosphere will be different," he said.

The CEC said many political parties skipped the 2014 election, but things are different this time.

The returning officers now have so many duties and responsibilities to perform, he uttered.

Mr Huda suggested them for developing a position of trust with both contestants and voters to ensure a congenial polling environment.

"Don't make candidates or political parties your (returning officers) rivals… Don't be biased to any quarters," he advised.

"Be strict if it's necessary as we want to hold such an election that would be followed in the days to come," the CEC maintained.

Election commissioner Kabita Khanam and EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed, among others, were present there.

In the wake of political parties' plea for deferring the election for a month, the EC on Monday deferred it for December 30.

Earlier, the voting date was fixed on December 23.

But the unhappy Oikyafront leaders requested the commission to further delay the polls.

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