The Election Commission on Monday announced the schedule for the 10th parliamentary polls setting January 5 as the polling day.
The chief election commissioner, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, announced the
election schedule in a televised address to the nation Monday evening.
‘We waited until today for a political consensus. But we have no more
time to spare as we are constitutionally bound to hold the 10th
parliamentary polls by January 24, 2014 and that is why we are
announcing the election schedule today,’ said Rakibuddin in his recorded
address to the nation.
The CEC made a clarion call on all political parties to come to an
understanding over the polls in the greater interest of the country and
its people.
In his address, the CEC said the aspiring candidates could collect nomination papers and submit them until December 2.
Returning officers would scrutinise the nomination papers in December 5-
6. The candidates would be able to withdraw their candidatures until
December 13 while the EC would allocate election symbols on December 14.
The schedules for almost all past general elections except the 2008
polls were announced at media briefings at the EC secretariat, but this
time the CEC skipped such briefing and announced the schedule in a
televised address.
He said the EC would deploy army troops to maintain law and order during the polls to ensure the security of the voters.
The BNP-led opposition, which has long been in movement for restoration of the caretaker government to
oversee the parliamentary polls, said it would not only boycott the ‘unilateral’ polls, but would also resist it.
However, it was widely believed that BNP’s acting secretary general
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had been engaged in a backstage parley with
the ruling Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam ostensibly
to reach a consensus.
Security in the EC secretariat was tightened on Monday with deployment
of addition law enforcers, including Rapid Action Battalion.
The EC secretariat set up an additional archway at its entrance while
law enforcers were seen frisking people at the main entrance to the
commission compound.
Security was also beefed up across the country shortly after the
announcement of the election schedule fearing vandalism. The authorities
have deployed paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh at places around the
country.
According to the electoral code of conduct for the political parties and
candidates in the parliamentary polls, the candidates would begin
electioneering three weeks before the polling day.
Accordingly, the candidates would not be able to start election campaigns before getting their election symbols.
A total of 9,19,66,290 voters – of them 4,58,42,972 women – are
eligible to exercise their franchise this time to elect their
representatives in parliament.
‘As the two major political alliances have not reached a consensus yet
over the nature of the election-time government, we have put some
poll-time restrictions on the government-privileged VIPs like ministers
for a level playing field,’ the CEC said.
Urging all political parties and their men to strictly follow the
electoral code of conduct, the CEC said the commission would take ‘tough
action’ against those who would breach the code irrespective of their
identities.
‘I want to announce emphatically that none will be spared in enforcing the electoral code of conduct,’ he added.
He also asked the polling officers to work neutrally without fear or favour saying the EC would ensure ‘all security’ for them.
‘You will ignore all unjust and illegal demands,’ the CEC asked the polling officers.
Rakibuddin called on all stakeholders to cooperate with the commission
in holding a free, fair, transparent, credible and participatory
election claiming that the commission was acting neutrally and fairly.
‘We want to assure all the voters that the president, the poll-time
government as well as the Election Commission are resolute to do
whatever is necessary to ensure security of the voters.’
‘We will do everything possible so that the voters can go to the polling
stations and return home after exercising their franchise without
fear,’ he said.
‘The poll will be held peacefully Inshallah. We will in no way allow the
voters to be hostage to terrorism, hooliganism and muscle power,’ he
said.
The EC would set up about 1,89,000 polling booths in about 38,000
polling stations across the country. About six lakh polling officials
will be engaged in conducting the polls.
The EC has appointed 66 returning officers for conducting the polls to
300 parliamentary constituencies. All deputy commissioners of the 64
districts will discharge the duty of returning officer in their
respective district and the divisional commissioners of Dhaka and
Chittagong will act as returning officer in Dhaka and Chittagong
metropolitan areas.
The EC has appointed 577 assistant returning officers for the poll. All
the Thana Nirbahi Officers, assistant commissioners (land) in some
upazilas and 16 district election officers in some upazilas have been
appointed as the assistant returning officers.
The EC expects that about one lakh local observers and 3,000 foreign observers will oversee the polls.
According to EC estimation, the parliamentary elections would cost about
Tk 500 crore – of the amount about Tk 280 crore would be spent for the
purpose of law enforcement.
The ninth parliamentary election was held on December 29 in 2008 under
the military-backed caretaker government, which the Awami League won
with a three-fourths majority. (source)