KHULNA, June 27 (bdnews24.com): The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the parliamentary elections in October, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda said Friday.
'The parliamentary elections must be held in the third week of December, and its schedule will be announced in October,' the CEC told reporters, after a meeting on the EC's proposed delimitation of electoral districts held at the Khulna deputy commissioner's office.
The CEC also stated that the decision of the (BNP-led) four-party alliance to resist holding of the local body polls in August would not affect the schedule for the national elections.
'Their rejection of local polls is a political decision. That should not influence the national election,' he added.
The meeting was organised by the EC to hear objections against delimitation of six electoral districts in Khulna, Jessore and Satkhira.
Addressing those objections, the CEC said the redrawing of constituencies has been proposed after considering geography, population sizes and other aspects of the areas in question, but ensuring that no harm occurs in the process.
'Still, the objections will be addressed after a proper hearing,' he said.
Following the meeting, the CEC was asked by reporters if it would be possible to hold the national elections before any local body polls.
'Well, the local government polls may be held at different times on different dates, while the national election has to be held simultaneously all over the country on the same date, which makes its preparations a time-consuming affair,' Huda said.
On the schedule for upazila elections, he said: 'Very soon. The Election Commission will declare the time-table after holding a meeting on the matter.'
Differing with reporters on people seeming ambivalent about the holding of city corporation polls under the state of emergency, Huda said: 'That seems hardly the case, as we are seeing large numbers of willing people turning up to collect nomination papers for the city corporation elections.'
The hearing was attended by Election Commissioners Muhammed Sohul Hussain and M Sakhawat Hossain, EC secretary Md Humayun Kabir and Khulna district election officer Md Mujibur Rahman.
The objections were raised, among others, by local politicians and former lawmakers.
