The Election Commission (EC) is likely to announce its roadmap for the 13th national election by July in line with the timeline announced by the interim government.

Discussions on the next election with the registered political parties will take place in August–September or earlier, if possible, said Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar yesterday at a media briefing.

Since taking office, the current EC has been working according to its own action plan, he said, adding that, as part of this plan, they have been updating the voter list.

The EC hopes to complete the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies within three months provided the government decides regarding amendments to the relevant law.

Preliminary preparatory work will be mostly completed within the next three months, he said.

Asked whether preparations are being made assuming the polls will be held in December, Sarkar said that they are proceeding according to the government-declared timeline, which is December.

"We are moving forward based on the repeatedly announced timeline by the government," he said.

Regarding new party registration, Sarkar said three parties have applied for registration so far and many others have sought an extension of the deadline.

The current application deadline is April 20.

When asked whether there would be changes to the law regarding the registration of political parties, he said they are currently proceeding with the existing Representation of the People Order (RPO). No changes have been made so far.

The EC also mentioned that they have nearly completed revisions to the electoral code of conduct, local election observer guidelines and foreign observer guidelines.

"Once approved by the commission, these will soon be sent for printing."

Regarding whether elections can be conducted with the current law-and-order situation, Sarkar said that they have visited several districts and spoken with district administrations, law enforcement agencies and election officials.

If the law enforcement agencies continue to perform the same way as they did during Ramadan, there should be no problem in holding the next national elections, he said.

"In fact, the law-and-order situation during Ramadan was better than before. We believe it is gradually improving, and if they have another six to eight months, it will further improve."