The Election Commission (EC) is now preparing to hold the next general polls in December, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said.
But if the government wants, the EC will arrange local government elections before the national elections, the commissioner told reporters after briefing development partners arranged by the EC on next polls.
A discussion is being raised about whether both elections could be held together and how much time it would take, he said.
Envoys and the representatives of 18 countries, including EU, USA, UK, Japan, China, South Korea, also attended the briefing held at the EC office in Dhaka.
The election commissioner explained that holding national and local government elections simultaneously is not possible. Past experience shows that conducting all local government elections in phases takes about a year, he said.
If local government elections are fully conducted in this manner, the national election will have to be delayed.
“The national election is currently the Election Commission’s priority, and the EC is preparing for it. However, if the government decides to hold local government elections before the national elections, the EC will implement that decision accordingly. That is the government’s decision,” he said.
In response to another question, Abul Fazal said that the government will decide the scope of the local government elections and which institutions will be involved. Only then, the EC will be able to determine whether it will impact the national elections. It is not possible to say this beforehand, he added.
