Bangladesh Election Commission has completed all preparations to hold the 13th general elections in February next year and the schedule will be announced in the next two days. A top official gave this information on Tuesday.
“The schedule will be announced this evening after the meeting with the President (Mohammed Shahabuddin),” Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masood told reporters. He said that the meeting is to be held on Wednesday i.e. today at Bangabhavan (President’s House).
Meanwhile, Election Commission officials said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin is expected to announce the schedule in a nationwide address.
The CEC met Chief Justice Syed Rafat Ahmed at the Supreme Court on Tuesday ahead of the referendum to announce the election date and seek public opinion on a series of reform proposals initiated by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appears to be the frontrunner, while its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami and its right-wing Islamist allies are the main rivals in the absence of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s disintegrated Awami League.