Dhaka Bureau: The Election Commission (EC) is preparing to hold elections in two cities of Dhaka after the nationwide upazila elections. The countdown to the elections of Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation is starting in the first week of December. The election commission has a preliminary plan to vote in January next year (2025), with two city elections scheduled for December this year.
Besides, the EC will write to the local government department this month to find out whether there is any complication with the election of the two cities. A formal meeting about this election is scheduled to be held once the letter is answered.
However, before announcing the schedule, the constitutional body will decide whether the election will be held by ballot paper or electronic voting machine (EVM).
EC officials said that the SSC exam will be held in February next year. HSC exam to be held in April. So the EC has to organize the election before the SSC exam. Two city elections are planned for the middle or last week of January. All kinds of preparations are being made for holding elections during this period.
Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said that the two city corporations of Dhaka will not vote before next January. There is still enough time for this election. All preparations will be made to hold elections on time.
On February 1, 2020, EVM voting was held in Dhaka North and South City. In that election, the two main political parties’ symbols of boat and grain of rice were fought. But this time, the Awami League may not give the party symbol in this election. It is not yet clear whether the BNP will participate in the elections or not.
According to EC officials, the City Corporation Act provides for holding elections within 180 days before the expiry of the term. And according to the law, the term of the corporation starts at the first meeting. In this regard, the first meeting of Dhaka North City Corporation was held on June 2, 2020. The first meeting of South City Corporation was held on June 3, 2020. Accordingly, the election countdown in Dhaka North City will start on December 4 this year. And the countdown for South City will begin on December 5. The terms for the two cities will expire on June 1 and 2 next year. The EC can hold polls on any day from the start of counting days.
Those concerned say that the preparations for the election are going on, including the preparation of the voter list. The Election Commission may send a letter to the Ministry of Local Government this month. Due to low voter turnout in the recently concluded upazila elections, initiatives will be taken in advance to increase the voter turnout in the two city polls in Dhaka.
During the last election, the number of voters in the two cities was 54 lakh, 63 thousand, 467 people. Among them, there were 30 lakh 9 thousand voters in Dhaka North and 24 lakh 52 thousand voters in Dhaka South.
