Four-day holiday for election

People will get to enjoy a four-day consecutive holiday from February 11 to 14, following the declaration of February 11 as a general holiday.

In addition to the public holiday on voting day, February 12, the Advisory Council yesterday approved a proposal to declare February 11 a public holiday to facilitate voter participation and ensure effective law and order management ahead of the polls, reports BSS.

This includes the two weekly holidays on Friday and Saturday, resulting in a continuous four-day break around the election.

The council gave the approval at its weekly meeting at the Chief Adviser’s Office with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in the chair.

Later, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed the media at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, saying the council approved the proposal made at a high-level meeting held on Wednesday on the election preparations and security issues.

He said the meeting also approved another holiday on February 10 only for workers in industrial zones.

He said the rationale behind this proposal was that, as February 11 is the day before the election, many voters who are currently staying in Dhaka, industrial towns, or other major cities would be able to travel back to their respective home areas to cast their votes.

It was also expected that such a measure would help manage law and order more effectively during the election period, Shafiqul said.

An official order regarding these decisions will be issued very soon, he said.