Bangladesh: The Election Commission (EC) has finalized and approved the roadmap for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election, raising expectations that it could be officially announced as early as Thursday.
Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam confirmed the development, noting that all aspects of the action plan had been completed.
“The roadmap has been approved. Only the final formatting is underway,” he told reporters after a meeting at the EC headquarters in Agargaon on Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting was attended by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) A.M.M. Nasir Uddin, four election commissioners, and the EC secretary.
Meanwhile, Senior Secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat Akhtar Ahmed hinted that the announcement was imminent.
“The delay will not be long—possibly tomorrow we will be able to release it,” he said, speaking to journalists after a hearing on the revised boundaries of parliamentary constituencies.
Pressed by reporters on whether the announcement was now certain, Ahmed replied, “Perhaps the roadmap is already on my table. Can’t you wait until tomorrow? A single day won’t make much difference.”
The hearings on boundary demarcation, however, were not without controversy. On the opening day, a scuffle broke out inside the EC office over disputes concerning the Brahmanbaria-2 and Brahmanbaria-3 constituencies.
When asked why no punitive action had been taken over the incident, Ahmed dismissed direct responsibility, saying, “This is not something that can be attributed to the Election Commission itself. We have filed a general diary with the police and instructed them to take necessary measures.”
Addressing another query about reports of passports being seized, the senior secretary clarified, “Such claims have reached me as well, but the EC has no jurisdiction to confiscate passports, and we have not done so.”
Over the past four days, hearings were conducted on the redrawing of 84 constituencies across 33 districts. The process drew a total of 1,893 submissions, including 1,185 objections and 708 recommendations.
According to the EC, hearings covered 18 constituencies in six districts on August 24, 20 constituencies in nine districts on August 25, 28 constituencies in six districts on August 26, and 18 constituencies in 12 districts today (August 27).
With the roadmap already endorsed by the commission, the nation now awaits its formal declaration, which could come within the next 24 hours.
