EC eyes December for the next general elections

Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar speakikng at the Narsindi exchange of opinion meeting

Dhaka, Apr 9 - Election Commissioner Mohammad Anwarul Islam Sarkar said that the Election Commission is preparing for the upcoming national elections with December as the timeline. 

The work of updating the voter list is nearing completion as part of the preparation, he said while addressing a discussion meeting on the Voter List Updating Program 2025, held at deputy commissioner office in Narsingdi as the chief guest on Wednesday. 

In both local government and national elections, the responsibility of the Election Commission is to conduct parliamentary elections and organising the presidential election, he said. 

“The national parliament election is essentially our primary task. If there is political consensus and the government believes it is fully prepared to conduct local government elections, the government can request the Election Commission, which will then proceed with the elections,” he added. 

Replying to a question about whether the Awami League will participate in the upcoming elections and whether the boat symbol will be used, the Election Commissioner said that this is a completely political decision. 

“Though, it is not yet the time to say whether any symbols will be present on the ballot papers. Time will tell which candidates will participate in the elections and which symbols will appear on the ballots,” he said. 

Narsingdi Deputy Commissioner Rashed Hossain Chowdhury, Regional Election Officer for Dhaka Division Mohammad Yunus Ali, Superintendent of Narsingdi Police Mohammad Abdul Hannan and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Anjan Das were present there. - UNB