Local polls will be better than national election: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin today said the upcoming local government elections would be held to a standard at least as high as that of the last national election.

“We will do better than the national election we conducted. It will not be worse,” he told reporters after a dialogue with Election Commission officials at the Election Training Institute in Agargaon, Dhaka.

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Nasir said the commission had learned lessons from previous elections and was committed to conducting the local polls properly.

He acknowledged that violence has historically been more intense during local elections and said law enforcement agencies would have a greater role in controlling it.

“We will make every effort to control it,” he said, adding that police, BGB and other agencies would be mobilised accordingly.

On the election schedule, the CEC said no date had been finalised yet as preparations depended on several factors, including possible legal amendments, Durga Puja, the monsoon and annual examinations.

He said the government would be consulted, but the Election Commission would decide the dates.

“Our overall preparations are ongoing,” he said, adding that the polls would not be unnecessarily delayed and the commission would try to begin them as soon as possible.

Asked whether October was being targeted, Nasir said several factors would have to be considered before fixing the schedule.

On the Thakurgaon-1 by-election, he said it would be held within 90 days.

The dialogue, titled “Strategic Leadership for Bangladesh’s Local Government Elections”, was organised by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).