Presidential election to be held between Jan 23 and Feb 23

The presidential election will be held between January 23 and February 23, said Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md Jahangir Alam.

"The election process has already begun. We'll contact the Parliament Secretariat for a meeting between the Speaker and the chief election commissioner (CEC) to fix the date for the election," he said after the 12th meeting of the Commission at Nirbachan Bhaban today. 

CEC Kazi Habibul Awal presided over the meeting attended by other commissioners and high officials.  

Secretary Jahangir Alam said the EC has finalized a proposal for doubling the deposit amount for candidates who will vie for the reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad. The deposit for candidates for the women's seats was proposed to be raised to Tk 20,000 from the existing Tk 10,000, he said.

Besides, it has finalised a proposal for amendment of some clauses regarding the election law (2004) for reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad, he said, adding that now the EC will send the amendment proposals to the law ministry for taking necessary steps in passing those in the Jatiya Sangsad.   

He said the meeting has also approved the recommendations made by a committee led by Election Commissioner Rasheda Sultana for the amendment to some clauses regarding the election law (2004) for reserved seats for women.  

The timeframe for holding the election for a reserved seat has been proposed to increase to 90 days from the existing 45 days, reports BSS.