WEB DESK
The next general elections in Bangladesh will be held using the ballot paper, announced the Election Commission in Dhaka on Monday. Briefing media after the Election Commission (EC) meeting, the Secretary of the Election Commission said that the EC has decided to hold the general elections on all the 300 parliamentary seats using ballot papers and transparent ballot boxes.
Earlier, the EC had taken up a project to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) at 150 constituencies during the general elections. However, the Taka 8700 crore proposal of the EC could not progress towards implementation. Refurbishing of the EVMs was also not approved by the government.
The general elections in Bangladesh are scheduled to be held by the end of this year or in January next year. However, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has accused the government that it is planning to hold the elections earlier. Speaking at a party programme on April 1, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had alleged that the government is planning for early elections to ‘con the people’. He referred to a meeting of the Election Commission held on 30 March in which the Chief Election Commissioner told officials to remain ready for the elections, even if they are held earlier.