Nat'l election schedule in late October

Election schedule for the next parliamentary polls will be announced in late October, Election Commission (EC) Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said yesterday.

The commission has given necessary directives to the authorities concerned to prepare voter list and CD of the voter list of all 300 constituencies before the parliamentary election.

“The election schedule is likely to be announced in late October,” the EC secretary told journalists after holding a meeting with the election commissioners at the EC secretariat.

He also said the voter list will not be updated this time, as the latest update of voter list was completed in 2018. The next parliamentary election will be held on the basis of that voter list, he said.

But expatriates who turned 18 can become voter at any time, as it is a continuous process, he said.

The secretary said the commission has decided to observe Voter Day from March 1 next year.

Helal said the commission has decided to include Hijras as third gender in the voter list. Currently, members of the Hijra community are enlisted as either male or female.

“If anyone wants to enlist as third gender, we will do that,” he said.

The EC secretary also said electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used at 10 centres in the upcoming Barisal City Corporation election, and at two centres each in Rajshahi and Sylhet.

City corporation elections to Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal will be held on July 30.