Cumilla City Corporation elections to be held Jun 15

The Election Commission has announced the third Cumilla City Corporation election will be held on Jun 15.

The date for the polls, alongside those of delayed union council and other local government elections, was finalised at the second meeting of the new EC led by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal in Agargaon on Monday.

On the same day as the Cumilla city polls, voting will be underway at six municipalities, one upazila and 135 union councils, said EC Secretary Md Humayun Kabir Khandaker after the meeting.

Those wishing to contest the elections will have to submit their applications to the returning officer overseeing the polls by May 17. The applications will be scrutinised on May 19. May 26 is the last day for candidates to withdraw from the polls.

Electronic Voting Machines, or EVMs, will be used for the Cumilla City Corporation polls. EC Director (Election Official) Md Shahedunnabi Chowdhury is the returning officer for the elections.

The last Cumilla city election was held on Mar 30, 2017. The elected representatives took office on May 17 of that year. Their terms will end on May 16 of this year.

According to the law, a city corporation election must be held in the 180 days before the term of the current representatives comes to an end. However, the new EC led by Kazi Habibul Awal had said in February that it would not be possible to do so in the case of Cumilla.

The Cumilla City Corporation was formed in July 2011 with the merging of two municipalities. Two elections have been held since. The first election was held without the participation of political parties, but parties were allowed to field candidates for the 2017 polls. In both elections, candidates backed by the ruling Awami League were defeated by their BNP counterparts.