EC secretary rules out Kurigram-4 by-polls as general election nears

The Election Commission secretary sees no possibility of by-elections to Kurigram-2 constituency as there is ‘not enough time’ before the next general election.

The parliamentary seat fell vacant after the death of Opposition Chief Whip Tajul Islam Choudhury on Monday.

The commission is bound by the law to organise the by-polls within 90 days of a parliamentary seat falling vacant, which means the Kurigram-2 by-election has to be held within Nov 14.

But the law also has a provision that allows the chief election commissioner to hold the election within 90 days from the end of a stipulated time in case of an eventuality.

The EC will officially start preparing for the next parliamentary election, which is scheduled to be held within Jan 28 next year, on Oct 30.

“There won’t be enough time to hold the by-election after gazetting the vacancy of Kurigram-2 constituency,” Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.   

“So there is no possibility of holding the by-election,” he said.

The commission will take the final decision on the issue, he added.

The EC is set to meet on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the EC announced the schedule for Khulna-4 parliamentary by-election with Sept 20 as the voting day.

The seat fell vacant after the death of the Awami League’s SM Mostafa Rashidi Suja MP on July 26.