EC likely to announce 3rd phase upazila election schedule Wednesday

The Election Commission (EC) is most likely to announce the polls schedule for over 100 upazila parishads in the third phase of the local body election on Wednesday.

The commission will sit in a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal in the chair on Wednesday afternoon to finalise the schedule for the third phase upazila election. Then the election schedule for 112 upazila parishads can be declared, said EC officials.
The balloting in these upazilas might be held on May 29 next.

This time, the EC is holding the sixth countrywide upazila election in four phases. Now the polls will be conducted to more than 450 upazilas out of 495 ones throughout the country.

The Election Commission has already announced the first two phase election schedules to hold the balloting in 150 upazilas on May 08 and 161 upazilas on May 21.

In the first phase election, the deadline for submission of nomination papers expired on Monday last and a total of 1,891 aspirants –-for one chairman post and two vice chairman posts in each body—submitted nomination papers in 150 upazilas.

Aspirants can’t be forced to submit hard copy of nomination papers:

The Election Commission has directed the returning officers not to compel the aspirants to submit the hard copies (print copies) of online nomination papers in Upazila Parishad election.

In this regard, the commission sent a letter signed by its deputy secretary Atair Rahman to the returning officers on Tuesday.

The EC has made a provision for the first time in any kind of election in the country that an aspirant mandatorily needs to submit an online nomination paper to contest the Upazila Parishad election.