Election Commission to unveil action plan in July, plans dialogue before announcing poll schedule

The Election Commission (EC) plans to release a printed version of its action plan in July as part of its pre-voting preparations for the 13th national polls in December.

The commission aims to complete key tasks including voter list updates, electoral law reforms, boundary delineation, and new party registrations ahead of the election schedule.

Before finalising the election schedule, the EC intends to engage in dialogue with all stakeholders, Election Commissioner Mohammad Anwarul Islam said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The EC is continuing preparations in alignment with the interim government’s suggested timeline, which proposes holding the election between December and June.

However, rather than referring to the plan as a “roadmap”, the commission is terming it an “action plan”.

Anwarul said, “Since we took charge, we have been moving forward with our own action plan, and now we are in the process of finalising it.”

The commission has already made progress with gathering data on the administrative arrangement of constituencies, voter lists, and registrations, which are at different stages.

With legislative amendments, the commission expects to complete these tasks within the next three months.

“We aim to complete the preliminary work of the action plan within the next three months. We hope to have the printed version of the action plan ready by June or July before the election,” he added.

In response to questions, Anwarul confirmed that the commission is proceeding according to the government’s December timeline.

DIALOGUE WITH POLITICAL PARTIES IN AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

The EC also plans to complete registration of new political parties before engaging in dialogues with both new and established parties.

So far, three new parties have applied for registration, although they have requested an extension.

Currently, the commission is accepting applications until Apr 20 for parties interested in registration.

A decision on whether to extend the deadline will be made later, according to Anwarul.

“Once the registration process is completed, we will sit down with both new and old parties. If the registration is not finished, new parties will face challenges in participating.”

The dialogue is expected to take place in August or September, or earlier if possible, he said.

IMPROVED LAW AND ORDER EXPECTED AHEAD OF ELECTION

Anwarul expressed optimism over the state of law and order, hoping that the situation would improve further in the coming months.

“We’ve observed a steady improvement in law and order, particularly during Ramadan. Comparing it with previous years, the situation has consistently gotten better,” he remarked.

The commissioner noted that the law-enforcing agencies were committed to maintaining better performance, adding: “They have assured us that the improvements will continue, and we see no obstacles to holding the election if this trend persists.”

The EC expects the law and order to be significantly better in the next six to eight months, he concluded.