Voter list already prepared; schedule to be announced after further discussions

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin today said the Election Commission (EC) is ready to hold the presidential election, although the date has not yet been fixed.

The voter list has already been prepared, the CEC said while speaking to reporters after a meeting with acting Speaker Kayser Kamal at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka this morning.

Earlier, at 11:00am, the CEC, four election commissioners and the EC secretary met the acting speaker.

The CEC said, “Preliminary discussions have taken place. But the schedule has not been fixed yet. You will know in due course. When the sun rises, everyone can see it. There is no difficulty. We will announce it after further discussions.”

Referring to the meeting, he said, “We held detailed discussions keeping the presidential election in view.”

He added, “You know, the acting speaker has taken charge. We must hold the presidential election. It is the responsibility of the Election Commission. There is a law from 1991 that outlines this responsibility.”

According to him, the law specifies how the election date and schedule will be set, along with other procedural matters.

“It says the process will be completed in consultation with the speaker. The law defines when the election will be held, when nomination papers must be submitted, and how scrutiny will take place,” he said.

The CEC noted that the arrangements differ depending on whether the election is contested or uncontested, and whether parliament is in session.

Asked about the legal requirement to hold the election within 90 days, Nasir Uddin said, “We have said we are ready. We are prepared to hold the presidential election at any time. We also have preparations for local government elections. So we will complete this.”

He confirmed that the voter list has been prepared, adding, “We issued letters to prepare the list.”