Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed said on Thursday that the commission would announce the parliamentary election schedule in time, whether Parliament would continue or not is immaterial. “Don’t worry. We are on the right track. We are making preparations as per the Constitution, which is our guideline and we are hopeful that we will be able to conduct a free, fair and participatory election,” the CEC told reporters. He said dissolution of Parliament before the election is a political issue and the House is the supreme authority to take a decision in this regard.
As per the latest amendment to the Constitution, the 10th national election has to be held between October 24 and Jan 24 next year without dissolving Parliament. It means the 90-day countdown starts from today. If that does not happen, the poll will have to be held within 90 days after dissolution of the House. The EC was not aware whether the election would be held with Parliament still intact or not. “We are looking forward to the decision Parliament takes,” the CEC told reporters at his office.
Main opposition BNP have been demanding dissolution of Parliament before the election, while the Awami League-led ruling alliance wants the poll to be held under its supervision in accordance with the Constitution.
Replying to a question, Ahmed said the EC is discharging its duty as per the Constitution. “We are under no pressure from any quarter,” he added.
Ahmed said the EC has started taking steps for the election, such as gathering field-level information, including the status of upazila and district-level manpower, from the local administration as per the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972. It plans to train field-level election officials. It has started procuring equipment for the poll, both locally and internationally, the CEC added.
-With The Independent input
