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Upazila polls start in mid-Feb

Staff Correspondent
The Election Commission (EC) will start holding upazila elections across the country from the middle of the next month.
Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad told this to reporters after a meeting at the EG secretariat yesterday.
"We held a preparatory meeting today [Saturday] with officials of different ministries. We have received suggestions and information from them. We will take the final decision on the election schedule after scrutinising all these," he said.
"The current upazila parishads have different expiry dates and so, we will have to hold the elections in phases," theCEC said.
Sources said the suggestions that the GEG spoke of included holding the polls in two phases- the first between February 18 and 22 and the second between March 18 and 25.
The commission might announce the schedule for elections to around 106 upazilas out of 487 across the country in the first phase today, sources added.
When his attention was drawn to the fact that the polls schedule might conflict with the Secondary School Certificate examinations beginning from February 9, the CEC said they had no alternative.
"There are legal compulsions to hold the polls within a certain timeframe. But we will try to hold the polls, causing as less disturbance as possible to the SSC examinees," said the EC boss.
The last election to 479 upazila parishads was held on January' 22,2009. The tenure of more than 100 upazila parishads is set to expire in February. Around 223 upazila parishads will complete their tenure in March, 35 in April, 85 in May, 18 in June and the rest between July and September this year, EG secretariat officials said.
According to the Upazila Parishad Act 1998, the tenure of an upazila parishad begins from the day the first meeting of the elected council is held. This is why, though election to the parishads was held at the same time, the expiry dates of the upazila parishads will vary'.
Meanwhile, the EG has identified some discrepancies between the information given by the EG secretariat and that of the LGRD ministry' regarding the expiration of different upazila parishads* tenures.
During yesterday's meeting, the EG asked the LGRD ministry for proper information by noon today.
"The ministry's information will be the final one and we will follow only' that," an election commissioner told The Daily Star, seeking anonymity.
As per the electoral laws, polls to the upazila parishads are held within 180 days before their tenure expires.
With the addition of nine more upazila parishads in the last five years, the EG now will have to hold polls to 487 upazila parishads which have around eight crore voters, said the EG officials.
The EG has already sent letters to its field-level officials to prepare lists of polling centres for the elections and send these to the commission by January'26.
Upazila parishad election was first held in 1985 and then in 1990. After a long break, the last election was held in 2009, just three weeks after the ninth parliamentary' polls.
RANGPUR-6 BY-ELECTION
SCHEDULE
The EC is likely' to announce the schedule for holding by-election to Rangpur-6 parliamentary constituency today.
The constituency fell vacant when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was elected from Gopalganj-3 constituency as well, relinquished her membership of the constituency on January' 8, three days after the election.
The commission in principle has decided to hold the election by third week of February', an election commissioner toldThe Daily Star, wishing anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission yesterday issued a gazette notification on the MPs-elect of seven constituencies where re-elections were held on Thursday.
Earlier, voting was postponed in Jessore-5, Dinajpur-4, Gaibandha-1, 3, 4, Bogra-7 and Laxmipur-1 constituencies because of violence during the 10th parliamentary polls on January 5.
Candidates nominated by the ruling Awami League won in three constituencies, Jatiya Party and Bangladesh Tariqat Federation got one seat each while independent candidates came victorious in two others.