Cumilla City Corporation
Govt to appoint administrator
Decision taken as polls won’t be held in due time
The government will appoint an administrator at the helm of Cumilla City Corporation, as the Election Commission (EC) will not be able to hold elections for the local government body in due time.
The five-year tenure of the corporation will expire on May 16. But the current commission, at its first meeting yesterday, decided that it would hold the polls by June 20.
The elections will be the first major polls under the new EC, led by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal.
EC Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker said the commission wants to hold elections by the time-frame, as there will be Eid vacations for nine days.
"The commission will announce the election schedule after a commission meeting, to be held later this month," he said after the commission meeting.
The commission is taking time, as it will need to prepare because the elections will take place using EVM, he added.
The last Cumilla city election was held on March 30, 2017, which was also the first task of the immediate past EC, led by KM Nurul Huda.
Local Government Division Senior Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed told The Daily Star that the government will appoint an administrator after the corporation's tenure expires, in line with the law.
THIRD ROUND OF TALKS TODAY
The EC is all set to host its third round of talks this morning with editors and senior journalists of newspapers. They have invited 34 journalists, according to EC Joint Secretary Asaduzzaman Arzu.