On completion of the three-week-long pilot project, which begins in Sripur municipality of Gazipur, the EC will also announce a clear roadmap for the next parliamentary elections.

"In fact, the pilot project is an acid test for the Election Commission. Through this project we will be able to correct faults, if any, in the methodology of preparing the voter list," Election Commissioner Sahul Hossain told The Daily Star yesterday.

He said all preparations have been completed. "We have been informed that a festive mood is prevailing in the area," he said.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda, Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed and two election commissioners Sahul Hossain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain are scheduled to attend the inaugural ceremony of the pilot project this morning.

Bangladesh Army is assisting the EC in carrying out the pilot project by providing manpower and logistic support.

Local administration and election office have completed all preparatory tasks and enumerators have already started distributing the voter registration forms among the eligible people. People have been asked to visit the registration centres to have their photographs and fingerprints taken so that it could be incorporated into the voter list and national ID cards.

The EC is currently considering sending enumerators to make door-to-door visits to collect particulars of prospective voters and asking the voters to visit the registration centres to have their photographs taken when the nationwide voter enrolment starts. However, the EC will finalise the methodology of preparing the voter list after this pilot project.

The EC has already announced that the field-level task of preparing the voter list will begin from August. A total of 12,000 teams will do the massive voter enrolment task across the country in phases. The EC announced an 18-month timeframe for the task, beginning from May.

Apart from holding the stalled ninth parliamentary elections, no elections of local government bodies would be held until the voter list is prepared.

The Sripur upazila administration already held a number of views-exchange meetings and sensitising meetings with the locals at schools, colleges and madrasas. Voter registrations will be carried out at 30 centres, where people will come to have their photographs and fingerprints taken. The municipality has over 44,000 voters.

The EC Secretariat has sent 60,000 voter registration forms to the local election office for the pilot project.

Besides, the EC formed separate committees comprising local government officials and public representatives to oversee the task and encourage people to register themselves in the voter list by visiting the registration centres.