Bypoll for Farooque's Dhaka seat to be held on Jul 17

This will be the first time ballot papers are used in a parliamentary by-election since the current Election Commission took office

The by-election for the Dhaka-17 parliamentary seat, which has been vacant since the death of its previous incumbent, actor Akbar Hossain Pathan, popularly known by his stage name Farooque, is set to be held on Jul 17.

The Election Commission announced the schedule for the election on Thursday.

According to the schedule, prospective candidates must file their nomination papers by Jun 15. The nominations will then be scrutinised on Jun 18 and the last day for withdrawing candidature is Jun 25.

The authorities will allocate symbols to candidates the following day.

Voting will start at 8 am on Jul 17 and continue until 4 pm. Ballot papers will be used for the first time during the current EC's tenure in this election.

The EC has decided to use ballot papers in all constituencies in the upcoming 12th general election. Accordingly, the Dhaka-17 bypoll is considered a ‘trial run’ for the process.

“We are going to use ballot papers in this bypoll to determine the pros and cons of using them and also to figure out what preparations should be made,” said EC Secretary Md Jahangir Alam.

The Parliament Secretariat declared the Dhaka-17 seat vacant after Farooque died on May 15, at the age of 75.

The law requires bypolls for parliamentary seats to be held within 90 days of them being vacated.

The 12th general election is likely to be held between the last week of December and early January next year.