Local Poll Schedule Remains Tentative: Salahuddin

Bangla Press Desk:   Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said the schedule for the local government elections announced by the Election Commission (EC) is merely a tentative plan, not a final decision.

“Local government elections are governed by relevant laws and require coordination with the government,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat after chairing a meeting on measures to ease traffic congestion caused by mega projects in Dhaka.

Referring to the EC’s plan to hold Union Parishad polls in phases beginning on November 12 next, Salahuddin said the schedule presented by the commission was explicitly described as “tentative.”

 “I watched the video regarding the tentative plan the Election Commission presented yesterday [Monday]. ‘Tentative’ implies a proposed schedule,” he said.

The minister suggested that the media might have misunderstood the announcement of the proposed dates as a firm decision to hold the elections.

He said no final decision has yet been made on the schedule.

Asked about the remarks of State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam that the EC announced the schedule without consulting the government, Salahuddin said the EC operates within the framework of the law.

He said the Constitution assigns the EC responsibility for holding parliamentary and presidential elections, while its other election-related responsibilities are determined by law.

 “Local government elections will be held in accordance with the local government laws. There is no provision in the law allowing the Election Commission to proceed in this matter without consulting the government. It is a matter of coordination,” the minister said.

He said an inter-ministerial meeting involving secretaries of the relevant ministries is scheduled for September 17.

Salahuddin said the EC will prepare the next election schedules after considering the decisions and opinions emerging from the meeting.

 “They will formulate the future election schedules based on the decisions made at the inter-ministerial meeting. This is expected to happen after the meeting takes place. We can certainly wait until then,” he said.

 “Therefore, there is no scope for viewing the plan announced by the EC as a final decision,” he said.