- Bangladesh Has 1.584m Tonnes of Fertiliser in Surplus |
- July Uprising crimes: Obaidul Quader, six others get death penalty |
- School relocation row halts Gaibandha char children’s learning |
- REHAB president's post declared vacant over loan default |
- China criticises idea it is in 'malicious competition' over AI |
Govt unaware of EC's schedule for UP polls: State Minister
State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam on Tuesday said the government is not aware of the Election Commission’s announcement of the schedule for the Union Parishad (UP) elections.
“Like you, we at the Local Government Ministry have seen in newspapers, social media and television reports that the Election Commission has announced the dates for the Union Parishad elections in several phases,” he told reporters at Secretariat.
“I just want to inform the people of the country through you that the government knows nothing about this, and there has been no correspondence or discussion with the government in any other way regarding the matter,” he said.
The state minister said the Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and has the authority to conduct elections.
“In the case of some local government elections, the Election Commission usually announces the election schedule after discussions with the government and holding preparatory meetings or law-and-order committee meetings,” he said, adding that issues such as budget allocation are also involved.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, Election Commissioner (retd) Brig Gen Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah told reporters at the Election Commission that the first phase of Union Parishad elections under 80 upazilas would be held on Nov 12, reports UNB.
He said the UP elections would be held in seven phases.
In the first phase, voting will be held in three upazilas each in Chattogram and Cumilla and in two upazilas each in districts that have 10 or more upazilas.
A total of 80 upazilas have been included in the first phase.