Voting in the next general election in Bangladesh will be held on January 7 as per poll schedule declared Wednesday by the Election Commission, followed by instant opposition rejection.
Rolling out the election schedule in a nationwide televised address, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal kept option open for a negotiated end to the government-opposition standoff over conduct of the election to the country's 12th parliament.
"Resolving differences of opinion through dialogue and understanding is not impossible," the CEC said in calling for a political consensus on the polls.
While the main opposition BNP and allies dismissed the election schedule and called fresh protest programmes, including a dawn-to-dusk hartal called by Ganotantra Mancha for today,
ruling Awami League leaders and activists brought out processions across the country to hail the poll schedule.
The deadline for submission of nomination papers is November 30, while December 1-4 was fixed for scrutinizing nomination papers and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 17.
The announcement of the polls schedule came amid the ongoing 48-hour blockade called by BNP and like-minded parties to press home their one-point demand for the resignation of the current government.
But Bangladesh Awami League is hell-bent for the arrangement of the national election under the present government.
The Election Commission is also determined to hold the next general election within the stipulated time as per its constitutional obligation.
The EC has a constitutional obligation to complete the next general election by January 29, 2024 when the tenure of the current Parliament will end.
A total of 11,96,91,633 voters under 42,103 polling stations throughout the country will have rights to cast their votes in the 12th general election.
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