The Election Commission (EC) will announce the schedule for by-elections to the parliamentary constituencies, which fell vacant after the resignation of seven BNP lawmakers, on Sunday.

Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said this while speaking to reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat at Agargaon in the capital on Thursday.

The schedules will be selected keeping in mind the public holidays, exams and religious festivals, said the election commissioner.

Many issues, including use of EVMs, installation of CCTV cameras, and appointment of returning officers during the by-polls, will also be discussed in the meeting, he said.

“The commission received the gazette notification declaring the six constituencies vacant following the resignation of seven BNP lawmakers. The next procedure is that we will sit for a meeting and decide the schedules for the by-polls.”

All seven Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) MPs submitted their resignation to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Speaker on Sunday.

The MPs who have resigned are Md Zahidur Rahman, Thakurgaon-3; Md Mosharof Hosen, Bogura-4; Gulam Mohammad Siraj, Bogura-6; Md Aminul Islam, Chapainawabganj-2; Md Harunur Rashid, Chapainawabganj-3; Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan, Brahmanbaria-2; and Rumeen Farhana, Women's Reserved Seat.

The vacant constituencies are Thakurgaon-3, Bogura-4, Bogura-6, Chapainawabganj-2, Brahmanbaria-2, and Rumeen Farhana, Women's Reserved Seat.

Earlier, the Election Commissioner said the commission will not wait 90 days for the schedule as the next general election is a little over a year away.

In 1994, 147 of the 154 opposition parliamentary members of Awami League, Jamaat and Jatiya Party resigned in a bid to oust the then Khaleda Zia’s government.

After a parliament seat gets empty, according to the constitution of Bangladesh, by-elections have to be held for that seat within 90 days of being declared empty.