The Election Commission (EC) led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin will meet President Md. Shahabuddin today (Wednesday) to brief him on the preparations for the upcoming 13th National Parliament election and referendum. On the same day, a speech by the CEC to the nation will be recorded on Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar, where the voting schedule will be announced.Meeting with the President at noonElection Commissioner Md. Anwarul Islam Sarkar said about the preparations for the vote, that all our preparations are complete. The announcement of the schedule is now just a matter of time. The EC has taken all the necessary preparations to announce the schedule. The entire commission will meet the President on Wednesday. The CEC's speech will be recorded today, which will contain the election schedule. And it will be broadcast later.Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Machud said that the schedule will be announced in the evening or on Thursday (December 11) after the meeting with the President on Wednesday afternoon.Boat symbol not on ballotThis time, the Election Commission is going to organize the election without the Awami League. The Election Commission has also suspended their registration as the party's activities were banned during the July mass uprising. As a result, the boat symbol will no longer be on the ballot paper. Because, if the registration is suspended, the party concerned will no longer have the opportunity to participate in the vote with its own symbol.In this regard, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Machud said that the symbol of a party whose registration is canceled or suspended will not be on the ballot.Expatriates will be able to vote in postal ballots this timeThe EC is bringing several innovations in this election. This time, for the first time, expatriates and government employees and prisoners responsible for voting inside the country will be able to vote in IT-supported postal ballots. In addition, even though this is the first time that an alliance has been formed, the EC has not allowed parties to participate in the vote with any other party symbol other than their own party symbol.Voting statistics and scheduleAccording to the latest final voter list for the 13th parliamentary election, the number of registered voters in the country is 127,695,183. Of these, 64,814,907 are male voters, 62,879,042 are female voters, and 1,234 are third-gender voters.At the same time, the number of polling stations is 42,761, with a total of 244,649 polling booths, 115,137 are male polling booths, and 129,602 are female polling booths. However, since two votes are cast simultaneously, the number of secret rooms (voting booths) may increase. This time, voting will be held from 7:30 am to 4:30 am.More than 50 parties are participatingMore than 50 registered parties including BNP, Jamaat, and NCP will be able to participate in this election. However, even though Awami League is out of the vote, the issue of Jatiya Party is not yet clear. EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that there is no obstacle for registered parties to participate in the vote. Currently, there are 56 registered political parties with the EC. This number may increase further before the vote.Code of Conduct and Executive MagistrateElection Commissioner Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah said that advance campaign materials must be removed within 48 hours of the announcement of the schedule. Otherwise, disciplinary action will be taken as per the election code of conduct. The executive magistrate will go to the field immediately after the announcement of the schedule. In addition, an election investigation committee will be formed.