Dhaka //

Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarkar stated that the Election Commission (EC) did not postpone the previously announced dates for local government elections due to any pressure from the government. Instead, the Commission intends to announce new dates after taking into account the prevailing realities, the law, and the Constitution.

He made these remarks to reporters yesterday, Thursday, at the Election Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka.

Anwarul Islam said, “We had announced tentative dates for the Union Parishad (UP) elections. Later, we observed that annual examinations were set to begin in all educational institutions. Additionally, there were concerns regarding the potential postponement of student exams and other academic activities due to floods. Therefore, the EC is considering the election schedule by taking all factors into account—including Ramadan, Eid, Puja, and the SSC and HSC examinations.”

He further added that the Commission is planning to hold the local government elections at a time that does not conflict with public examinations. As annual examinations are scheduled for November and December, the elections will not take place during those months. “We hope the elections will begin in January of next year,” he said.

Previously, the EC had announced tentative dates to start the seven-phase UP elections on November 12. However, following the expression of dissatisfaction by government ministers and state ministers, and after an inter-ministerial meeting on September 17, the agency moved away from its initial announcement and revealed plans to commence the UP elections in January.

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