—The Election Commission will seek explanation from the local government ministry on the workings of election deadline and areas of the wards.
The amended city corporation law states that elections will have to be held in old and split city corporations within 90 days, a deadline that doubles in case of new city corporations.
However, local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam said after the bill was passed in parliament that if the polls are not held within 90 days, it will be held within the next 90 days.
But, the matter was not mentioned in the amended law leaving the Commission in confusion. At same time, the law says nothing as to whether the areas of the wards would remain the same or would be demarcated again, adding to the confusion.
"So we will be sending a letter to the government seeking clarification," election commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain told .
A circular issued on Dec 1 regarding the amendment, and the new law calls for elections within a stipulated time after the circular is published. The local government has also sent a letter to the EC calling for the polls.
"The law says that the polls in the split city corporations will have to be held within 90 days, but does not say anything about holding polls during the next 90 days. We will have to clarify the matter with them [ministry]," Shakhawat added on Monday.
"Elections can be held under this commission if the vote is held in the first week of February. For that, we will have to declare the schedules by the end of the third week of this month. It is not impossible to hold the polls within 90 days but it will be very difficult."
However, the commissioners have expressed their reservations about hosting the ballots within the constitutional deadline ending on Feb 29, as the tenure of the commission led by A T M Shamsul Huda will end nearly two weeks before that. The outgoing commission feels that declaring the schedules and leaving the vote to a new commission would only create complications.
"The whole process should be completed under a single commission," another election commissioner Muhammad Sohul Hossain told .
"We could have start the process, but it is better not to as the new commission might have different plans about the election. So we do not want to stage this election."
WARD AREA
The commissioners are also puzzled over the area of the wards. The civic body has been split in two — north and south. The new northern city corporation comprises of 36 of the total 92 wards and the southern one has the remaining 56. The wards that fell under the new northern part are wards numbered 1-23, 37-47 and 54-55. The southern half has wards numbered 24-36, 48-53, 56-92
"The gazette published refers to the wards using their old numbers. We do not know whether they will have to be renumbered or whether their areas will have to be marked again," Shakhawat Hossain pointed out.
"We do not even know whether the boundaries of the old wards in the new city corporations will be redefined."
EC officials are saying that the wards will have to be renumbered using two new sequences. However, the LGRD ministry did not send issue separate gazette about demarcation of ward areas.
The chief election commissioner is currently abroad and will return on Dec 10. The commission will decide on the issues in a meeting after his return, the two commissioners said adding that until then their comments are personal.
The amended city corporation law states that elections will have to be held in old and split city corporations within 90 days, a deadline that doubles in case of new city corporations.
However, local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam said after the bill was passed in parliament that if the polls are not held within 90 days, it will be held within the next 90 days.
But, the matter was not mentioned in the amended law leaving the Commission in confusion. At same time, the law says nothing as to whether the areas of the wards would remain the same or would be demarcated again, adding to the confusion.
"So we will be sending a letter to the government seeking clarification," election commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain told .
A circular issued on Dec 1 regarding the amendment, and the new law calls for elections within a stipulated time after the circular is published. The local government has also sent a letter to the EC calling for the polls.
"The law says that the polls in the split city corporations will have to be held within 90 days, but does not say anything about holding polls during the next 90 days. We will have to clarify the matter with them [ministry]," Shakhawat added on Monday.
"Elections can be held under this commission if the vote is held in the first week of February. For that, we will have to declare the schedules by the end of the third week of this month. It is not impossible to hold the polls within 90 days but it will be very difficult."
However, the commissioners have expressed their reservations about hosting the ballots within the constitutional deadline ending on Feb 29, as the tenure of the commission led by A T M Shamsul Huda will end nearly two weeks before that. The outgoing commission feels that declaring the schedules and leaving the vote to a new commission would only create complications.
"The whole process should be completed under a single commission," another election commissioner Muhammad Sohul Hossain told .
"We could have start the process, but it is better not to as the new commission might have different plans about the election. So we do not want to stage this election."
WARD AREA
The commissioners are also puzzled over the area of the wards. The civic body has been split in two — north and south. The new northern city corporation comprises of 36 of the total 92 wards and the southern one has the remaining 56. The wards that fell under the new northern part are wards numbered 1-23, 37-47 and 54-55. The southern half has wards numbered 24-36, 48-53, 56-92
"The gazette published refers to the wards using their old numbers. We do not know whether they will have to be renumbered or whether their areas will have to be marked again," Shakhawat Hossain pointed out.
"We do not even know whether the boundaries of the old wards in the new city corporations will be redefined."
EC officials are saying that the wards will have to be renumbered using two new sequences. However, the LGRD ministry did not send issue separate gazette about demarcation of ward areas.
The chief election commissioner is currently abroad and will return on Dec 10. The commission will decide on the issues in a meeting after his return, the two commissioners said adding that until then their comments are personal.
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