Date for schedule announcement not yet decided: EC Secretary

Preparations for the elections are in full swing, but the Election Commission (EC) has not yet taken a decision on when it will announce the schedule.EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said this at a workshop for journalists at the Election Training Institute on Saturday (December 6) afternoon.The interim government has announced the 13th parliamentary elections in February. Taking this into account, the EC had planned to announce the schedule in the first half of December. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said that the schedule could be announced in the second week of December.This time, a referendum will also be held along with the 13th parliamentary elections. As part of the preparations for the elections, the commission held a national meeting at the Election Building in Agargaon today. Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed was also present at the meeting.Akhtar Ahmed said, ‘We have been in a meeting organized on the preparation of the election since 11:30 am.’Regarding the announcement of the schedule, Akhtar Ahmed said, ‘The Election Commission has not been able to determine the date of the announcement of the schedule yet.’However, he claimed that the EC is fully prepared to organize the election. He requested everyone to refrain from spreading wrong information about the election, ‘I request everyone to give correct information...surely, preparations are going on vigorously for the election.’Akhtar Ahmed spoke at a workshop titled ‘Representation of the People Order, 1972 (with latest amendments); Code of Conduct of Political Parties and Candidates in Parliamentary Elections, 2008 (with latest amendments) and Introduction to the Election Officers (Special Provisions) Act, 1991’ for journalists. The training was organized by UNDP and Reporters Forum for Elections and Democracy (RFED).Earlier in the morning, Election Commissioner (EC) Abdul Rahmanel Machud joined the journalists in a separate session of the workshop. He discussed the topics of 'Constitution, importance of national elections and role of the Election Commission; laws related to controlling electoral crimes: basic understanding of CrPC, CPC, Evidence Act; Disposal of cases related to national elections'.