All preparations for holding the 12th Jatiya Sangsad polls are going at a brisk pace.
The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh is ready to hold the upcoming JS election on time as per the Constitution, said sources in the EC.
The sources further said the EC may finalise the election schedule through a meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin at the Bangabhaban tomorrow (November 5).
CEC Kazi Habibul Awal will be accompanied by other high-officials of the commission at the meeting with the President.
According to sources, the polls schedule might be announced by the first half of the current month and the election is likely to be held in the first week of January in 2024.
EC officials said that at the meeting with the President the commissioners will also finalise the dates of appointing returning officers.
The Election Commission on October 31 also said due to Constitutional obligation the EC is bound to hold the next national election on time regardless of whether or not the environment is conducive.
According to the Constitution, the national election must be held in 90-day period before the expiry of the five-year term of Parliament. The term of the present parliament expires on January 29 and the 90-day countdown already started on November 1.
"We are firmly moving forward to hold the election, although sometimes, we talk about a favourable or unfavourable environment for elections." the CEC said.
After holding a meeting with US Ambassador Peter Haas at the EC Bhaban, he said whatever the situation might be, they are expecting that ultimately most political parties would take part in the polls and the situation would be conducive.
Meanwhile, the EC is going to hold dialogues today (Saturday) with all the political parties, which are registered with the EC.
EC Secretary Jahangir Alam earlier said that the commission already invited a total of 44 political parties to come to the EC office for dialogues on November 4 (today).
It should be mentioned, chiefs of all the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies earlier on November 1 informed the EC that there is no major hurdle to hold the next JS polls.
The CEC said the EC has no option but to conduct the election on time as there is a constitutional obligation. Political parties have different options. They may or may not take part in elections. They can contest in all 300 seats alone or take part in polls forming alliances, he said.
Earlier, the high-officials of the commission, including the CEC, held a meeting with Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan on October 31 in this regard.
The main objectives of the dialogue are to inform the political parties about the commission's preparations for holding the next JS polls.
The EC has invited two top leaders or two of their representatives from each of the parties for the dialogue, he said.
All the 44 registered political parties, which have been invited, have been divided into two groups for holding dialogue and, therefore, the dialogue will be held in two parts, he added.
Earlier, in July last year, the EC held dialogues with political parties aiming to prepare its working plan for the 12th national polls. But BNP and eight opposition parties skipped the talks.
In March this year, CEC Kazi Habibul Awal sent a demi official letter to BNP, inviting the party for an official or unofficial discussion on the polls. But BNP did not respond to it.
Apart from the political parties, the EC held dialogues with the representatives from the civil societies, journalists, NGOs and different other stakeholders.