The Election Commission (EC) convened a meeting on Thursday, June 19, to discuss the code of conduct for political parties and candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election, as well as the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries.
The meeting began at 11:00 AM in the Chief Election Commissioner’s (CEC) conference room at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon.
This is the seventh commission meeting under the leadership of CEC AMM Nasir Uddin. All four election commissioners, the EC secretary, and relevant officials were present.
The agenda includes discussions on the electoral code of conduct, the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, and other related issues.
On May 12, the government issued an ordinance amending the demarcation of parliamentary constituencies.
Since then, the EC has received 607 applications requesting changes to the boundaries of 75 constituencies.
By law, parliamentary constituencies must be finalized before the general election. The EC has already published a draft proposal for the boundaries of all 300 constituencies.
After hearings and a review of objections and suggestions, the final gazette notification will be published.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazl Md. Sanaullah stated that the 607 applications submitted so far have been reviewed at the committee level, with further detailed discussions to follow.
The draft electoral code of conduct includes several new proposals, such as restrictions on campaigning during the interim government`s tenure and enhanced monitoring of social media activities.
This is the first major meeting of the Election Commission since the possibility of a February election emerged following a meeting between the BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus in London on June 13.
However, CEC AMM Nasir Uddin remarked that the exact election date would depend on further dialogue with the government.
Regardless of whether the polls are held in February or April, the Election Commission is prepared.
