EC ready for DCC polls

The Election Commission has already taken necessary logistic preparations for holding the long overdue Dhaka city corporation elections that remain pending due to complexity over boundary demarcations.

"It is a big election. There are over 40 lakh voters... So, we need to take huge logistic preparations, and we have been already prepared," said Election Commission Secretary Sirazul Islam yesterday.

"We have completed updating the voter list, and sought budgetary allocations from the finance ministry for the election," he told reporters at his office in the capital's EC Secretariat.

But the election cannot be held until resolving the complexity over boundary delimitations.

"We will go forward after the LGRD ministry completes the delimitation and sends us the gazette notification," he said.

Replying to a question whether the vote can take place amid the political turmoil if the LGRD ministry completes the task within a few days, the secretary said, "The commission will definitely consider the issue of political situation while declaring the schedule."

The last election to undivided DCC was held on April 2002, and its tenure expired in May 2007.

At Monday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam to take steps for holding the elections. On December 8 last year, she told another cabinet meeting that the elections would take place in early 2015.

CCC POLLS

Sirazul Islam yesterday also informed that the Chittagong City Corporation election was likely to be held in the first or second week of June.

The tenure of the CCC office bearers will expire on July 26. As per electoral law, the poll must be held within 180 days prior to July 26, said EC officials.