CEC Huda earlier hinted that the polls might be held late November or early December next year. The procedure for preparing the voter list is also expected to be mentioned in the roadmap, sources in the Election Commission (EC) said.

In the past, the EC always prepared the voter list by sending its staff on door-to-door visits. But this time, people will have to go to the voter registration centres to have their photographs taken.

However, the EC may send enumerators on door-to-door visits only to distribute the voter registration forms and collect particulars of prospective voters, officials in the EC Secretariat said.

The EC is expected to say whether it would consult with political parties before finalising the draft proposals for electoral reforms. Sources in the EC, however, said the EC might request the government again to lift the ban on indoor politics allowing the EC to hold talks with political parties.

The CEC on April 4 at a meeting with the law adviser asked the government to withdraw its ban on indoor politics so that the commission could have talks with political parties.

When The Daily Star contacted Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain yesterday he declined to elaborate on the EC's plan. "We will announce the roadmap tomorrow [today] and you will know everything in details," he said.

"We want to complete the preparatory work for holding the polls as soon as possible. Once the preparatory work is done, we will ask the government to create a congenial atmosphere for holding the polls," the election commissioner added.

The CEC on April 5 announced an 18-month timeframe for preparing simultaneously a voter list with photographs and national identity cards. He also made public a set of draft proposals for electoral reforms.

In April, chief adviser to the caretaker government in his address to the nation said the stalled ninth parliamentary elections would be held before the end of 2008.