CEC says Awami League can join elections unless banned by court or government

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), A.M.M. Nasir Uddin, has clarified that there is no legal reason preventing the Awami League from participating in the upcoming elections, as it is a long-standing, registered political party. 

He made it clear that unless the government or the court bans the party, it is free to take part in the election process.

The CEC shared this information during a meeting with election officials at the Circuit House in Chittagong on Monday morning, where they discussed the voter list update and preparations for the 13th National Parliament elections.

"Everyone has seen what happened in the last three elections. This time, the Election Commission is working completely independently. There is no pressure from within the country or abroad. Therefore, the commission is doing its best to deliver an election that everyone can accept," the CEC said.

He also mentioned that the Election Commission is moving forward based on the instructions provided in the constitution. 

He assured that the process of updating the voter list would start soon and that strict actions would be taken against anyone attempting to register voters illegally.

The CEC further announced that the draft voter list would be published on January 2, and the final voter list would be released in March.

The meeting was chaired by Mohammad Yunus Ali, the Regional Election Officer of Chittagong, and was attended by various election officials from Chittagong’s upazilas.