Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday (November 29) said the Election Commission will announce the schedule for the next general election in the second week of December.
“Hopefully, what we expect is that it will be declared in the second week of December. When the schedule is announced, then you will know the dates (voting date, nomination deadline and the last date for withdrawal of candidacy),” he said, replying to a question from reporters.
The CEC was talking to reporters after inspecting a mock voting exercise demonstrated at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Girls High School in the capital.
The Election Commission conducted the mock voting exercise from 8am to 12pm for both the upcoming national election and referendum, which are likely to be held simultaneously on a single day in early February 2026.
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The CEC said the mock voting exercise was arranged to identify what is required to create an ideal environment for a fair, credible and participatory election as promised by the Commission.
“The purpose of arranging it (the mock voting exercise) is to understand, through a practical demonstration, what kind of environment is needed inside a polling station to deliver a fair, acceptable and participatory election we have promised the nation. We wanted to observe everything—what the atmosphere should be like, how the queues of voters should form, how polling officers and presiding officers should sit and operate, how the overall management should function, and even what role you, the journalists, might play,” he said.
Nasir Uddin said many people do not know about this type of exercise, especially new voters who will be voting for the first time.
“Those who became voters in the last 15 years never saw a real voting process and have no practical experience. Through this exercise, new voters are gaining experience, while the Commission is getting a real-time assessment of the situation,” he said.
About referendum on the July National Charter 2025, the CEC said an additional responsibility has now come as they would have to arrange the referendum together with the parliamentary elections.
“If both are to be held simultaneously, time management becomes a major issue. Based on Saturday’s assessment (through mock voting exercise), the Commission would decide over the rise of (now 42,500 polling stations) polling centres of polling booths, manpower and other required arrangements.
If required, he said, the number of polling stations or booths will be increased. “We will expand if needed. Our purpose is not to cause hardship to people,” he said.
He said all preparations for the election are largely ready. “We want to inform everyone — we have the preparations. There will be no problem, Inshallah. Together, we will deliver what we promised the nation.”
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Noting the mock voting exercise is an experience, he said, adding, “Whatever gaps or shortcomings exist in our plan, we will meet up those based on today’s practical experience.”
When asked about elderly voters who are unaware of the referendum, the CEC said it is natural that they do not know yet, as the campaign has not fully started.
The government and the Election Commission will jointly carry out extensive awareness campaigns about the referendum.
About the security, the CEC said the law and order situation in Bangladesh has never been perfect. Theft, mugging and violence always occur. So, these things are isolated incidents. “But the overall environment for polling must be ensured.
Election Commissioners, the EC Secretary, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Michael Miller, among others, were present.
The turnout of the voters was 70.40 percent as 352 out of 500 voters cast their votes in the mock voting exercise, said Presiding Officer (EC official) Jahangir Alam.
The current Election Commission, headed by AMM Nasir Uddin, was constituted just one year ago and had no experience of holding a single local body or parliamentary election.
Besides, this commission will have to hold a referendum simultaneously with the national election, which came as an additional responsibility to the current commission amid the changed situation after the 2024 student-led mass uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s regime.
The current Election Commission, headed by AMM Nasir Uddin, was constituted just one year ago and had no experience of holding a single local body or parliamentary election.
Besides, this commission will have to hold a referendum simultaneously with the national election, which came as an additional responsibility to the current commission amid the changed situation after the 2024 student-led mass uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s regime.
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