EC completes preparations for presidential election: CEC

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin said on Wednesday that the Election Commission (EC) had completed all necessary preparations to hold Thursday’s presidential election smoothly and orderly.

“We’ve completed all the preparations required for the presidential election. There is no shortfall in our preparations. We are receiving cooperation from everyone involved in the election and believe that we will be able to conduct a good election,” he told journalists at his office at the Election Commission building in the capital’s Agargaon.

The chief election officer for the presidential election said 349 voters would cast their ballots from 2pm to 5pm on Thursday.

“The president, prime minister, speaker and leader of the opposition are also voters in this election,” he said.

“The world is watching the presidential election being held in Bangladesh. So, this is a historic moment. This is a matter of fortune for me,” he added.

The CEC said the first presidential election was held in 1991, and no such election had been held since then.

“We are not accustomed to holding presidential elections. Even those working at the Parliament Secretariat are not accustomed to conducting this type of activity. But we have carried out all possible and necessary drills so that there is no gap in the entire process,” he said.

He said the Presidential Election Rules were framed under the 1991 law and the election process could be divided into several stages.

As Parliament is not currently in session, there is no need to summon a full session for the election, the CEC said.

“It is enough to call a meeting for this. The election officer will call a meeting and the members of Parliament will cast their votes there,” he said.

The voting by the president, prime minister, speaker and leader of the opposition will initially be telecast live, probably on Bangladesh Television, he said.

“The vote counting will also be broadcast live to ensure transparency, while MPs will be allowed to remain present during the counting. After the counting, the CEC will announce the name of the winner and the result will be published in the official gazette,” he added.