Third phase UP elections on Nov 28

The third phase of the union parishad elections will be held on November 28, Election Commission announced yesterday.

A total of 1,007 UPs across the country will go to polls in the third phase. Besides, voting will be held in 10 municipalities on the same day.

Election Commission Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker declared the polls schedule after an EC meeting at its office in the capital.

According to the schedule, candidates for the posts of chairman, member and reserved seats for women will be able to submit their nominations to returning officers till November 2.

The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on November 4 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 11.

The candidates of the municipality elections will follow the same schedule, the EC secretary said.

Asked how the elections will be held on November 28 as teachers and school authorities will remain busy holding annual exams for the secondary students at that time, Humayun hoped that the school authorities would "adjust" the date.

He said the EC has prepared the polls schedule, keeping in mind the routines of SSC and HSC exams.

This year's SSC and its equivalent examinations will be held from November 14 to 23, while HSC and its equivalent exams will take place between December 2 and 30.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education asked all school authorities to complete annual exams for classes six to nine students and test exams for SSC candidates of 2022 between November 24 and 30.

During the elections, school buildings are used as polling centres and teachers perform duties as election officials.

Some 848 UPs will go to polls on November 11 in the second phase.

In the first phase, elections were held in 204 UPs on June 21 and 160 UPs on September 20.

The EC held the first-phase polls on two dates due to Covid-19.