EC prepares to unveil general election roadmap Thursday as talks fail

The Election Commission is rolling out the roadmap of the parliamentary polls on Thursday without waiting for the two main political camps of Bangladesh to iron out their differences.

EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed spoke of their position on Wednesday after talks between the Awami League-led ruling 14-Party coalition and the Jatiya Oikya Front alliance with the BNP as its key component failed.     

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already suspended her news conference on the talks. The media call had been scheduled to be held hours before Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurrul Huda’s address to the nation.

He will announce the election schedule in the address to be aired by the state media Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar at 7pm. The move also follows a series of talks between the political groups and the EC.

“We have nothing to wait for. We have sat with all and taken their opinion. Now the schedule will be announced,” Secretary Helal told bdnews24.com on being asked whether the commission will wait for a consensus between the politicians.      

Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed says the EC holds the constitutional authority to announce the election schedule.

Hasina, who had ruled out any possibilities of dialogue with the BNP, suddenly opened the pre-election talks through a meeting with the Dr Kamal Hossain-led Oikya Front on Nov 1.

She sat with the Oikya Front leaders, including some from the BNP, again on Wednesday following their request for a second round of dialogue as they found “no solution” to the issues they had raised in the first round.

But both camps remained miles apart on the new alliance’s key demands like the release of BNP chief Khaleda Zia from jail before the polls and a nonpartisan election-time government.

The Awami League chief also sat with AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury’s Jukto Front, HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party, the Islami Oikya Jote, the Left Democratic Alliance and some other parties in the past week.

The EC earlier said it was waiting for the outcome of the talks before announcing the schedule.

“We know the results. We sat with an Awami League delegation. They supported the plan to announce the schedule. And the EC holds the constitutional authority to announce the schedule,” Secretary Helal told bdnews24.com on Wednesday.

AL leaders met the CEC on Wednesday.

Oikya Front leaders met the election commissioners on Monday.

He also said most of the parties and alliances in the talks with the EC did not oppose the idea of the schedule being announced as per the plan.

“We heard everyone. The commission decided to announce the schedule after reviewing everything. We are fully ready to announce the schedule,” Helal said.  

The commission will sit at 10:30am on Thursday to fix the schedule and the CEC will announce it later, according to the secretary.

CEC KM Nurul Huda will announce the election schedule in an address to to be aired at 7pm on Thursday.

CEC Huda had earlier said there is no scope of deferring the polls beyond the stipulated time, which is Jan 28 next year.

He had added that the commission may consider deferring the voting day within the period if all the parties reached a consensus on the issue.

The commission generally announces the schedule around 45 days before the voting day, according to Election Commissioner Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury.

Balloting in the last parliamentary elections was held 42 days after the schedule was out.

The voting will take place in the third week of December if the 45-day timescale is maintained this time.