'Election roadmap not to be hampered' if local polls delayed by one or two months
Thursday, 20 March 2008
The election roadmap won't be disturbed even if local-body elections are delayed by one or two months since holding the national elections is the Election Commission's (EC's) main target.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda made the observation while talking to journalists at his office in the city Wednesday, reports UNB.
"No, that won't be. We didn't mention any specific date or months in the roadmap for holding the local-body elections. Our main target is holding the national elections. We've taken the local elections as an additional task", the CEC told journalists when asked if the delay in announcing the schedule of local elections would hamper the EC-announced election roadmap.
"It won't matter if it is delayed for one or two months, because our main target is to hold the national elections", he said.
Asked about declaring the schedules for the city corporation and municipality elections at the end of March, as decided by the EC, CEC Huda said the commission didn't yet get the new laws governing the local bodies.
"I can't announce the election schedule until I get the laws in hand… When the gazette notification of the laws would come in my hand, then I would think of announcing the schedule", he said.
Huda said that, as far as he knew, the ministry concerned wanted to conduct the local elections under the new law and lots of changes were to come in the new law.
"So, I can't tell anything until the ordinance is promulgated."
Asked when the law might be enacted, the CEC said he did not know, as it was not a matter of the EC.
The local-body elections and relevant laws were totally an affair of LGRD ministry, he said.
"No, the election of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) will be held separately as it is a big matter", CEC Huda said when asked in case of delay in holding Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet City Corporation elections, if the DCC election would also be held simultaneously with the four.
About the progress of voter listing, he said the programme is going smoothly and registration of 50 million (5.0 crore) voters would be complete by March 26.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda made the observation while talking to journalists at his office in the city Wednesday, reports UNB.
"No, that won't be. We didn't mention any specific date or months in the roadmap for holding the local-body elections. Our main target is holding the national elections. We've taken the local elections as an additional task", the CEC told journalists when asked if the delay in announcing the schedule of local elections would hamper the EC-announced election roadmap.
"It won't matter if it is delayed for one or two months, because our main target is to hold the national elections", he said.
Asked about declaring the schedules for the city corporation and municipality elections at the end of March, as decided by the EC, CEC Huda said the commission didn't yet get the new laws governing the local bodies.
"I can't announce the election schedule until I get the laws in hand… When the gazette notification of the laws would come in my hand, then I would think of announcing the schedule", he said.
Huda said that, as far as he knew, the ministry concerned wanted to conduct the local elections under the new law and lots of changes were to come in the new law.
"So, I can't tell anything until the ordinance is promulgated."
Asked when the law might be enacted, the CEC said he did not know, as it was not a matter of the EC.
The local-body elections and relevant laws were totally an affair of LGRD ministry, he said.
"No, the election of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) will be held separately as it is a big matter", CEC Huda said when asked in case of delay in holding Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet City Corporation elections, if the DCC election would also be held simultaneously with the four.
About the progress of voter listing, he said the programme is going smoothly and registration of 50 million (5.0 crore) voters would be complete by March 26.