Confirming the finalisation of the election action plan for the upcoming 13th national polls, Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the action plan might be announced on Thursday.
He provided the information after the conclusion of a four-day hearing on claims and objections regarding the redrawing of parliamentary constituencies ahead of the national polls on Wednesday.
Asked when the action plan, referred to previously as the roadmap, would be published, Ahmed said, "On Thursday, I will have an opportunity to provide some more details, something better, some additional information. Please wait till then."
This marks the third time the EC has promised to unveil the action plan.
When asked why the action plan, which was supposed to be released last Thursday, was delayed, Ahmed said, "It is my own shortcoming. I have to admit that. Since I was outside Dhaka, I might have fallen a bit behind.
However, he reiterated that it was now complete.
"It is done; it is on my desk now. Can't you just wait until tomorrow? Holding it back for a single day won't make much of a difference. As I've already said, tomorrow I will have the chance to tell you much more. Until then, well… let the curiosity remain," He added.
GD filed after EC scuffle
Meanwhile, referring to last Sunday's scuffle between applicants of two Brahmanbaria constituencies during the constituency delimitation hearing, Ahmed said it was "regrettable".
When asked what action the EC had taken in this regard, the secretary said that a general diary (GD) had been filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station against unnamed individuals.
"This is not something directly related to the Election Commission. If people start going at each other outside for some reason, the responsibility doesn't lie with the institution," he said.
On August 24, the EC organised a hearing at the auditorium of its Agargaon headquarters over the boundary demarcation of two Brahmanbaria constituencies.
During the session, a clash broke out between supporters of BNP nomination-aspirant Rumeen Farhana from Brahmanbaria-2 and Khaled Mahbub Hossain Shyamol, BNP's district president and nomination-aspirant for Brahmanbaria-3.
At that time, Md Ataullah, joint chief organiser (southern region) of the central committee of the National Citizen Party (NCP), was allegedly assaulted by BNP activists.
Commenting on the incident, Ahmed said, "This was highly undesirable. It should not have happened, and it would have been better if it hadn't. But this is also a lesson for us—that many unforeseen things can occur at any moment. That is part of life. Still, it would have been better if it had not taken place. It is a regrettable incident for all of us."
A total of 1,893 hearings held in four days
The secretary added that a total of 1,893 objections and recommendations were received regarding 84 constituencies across 33 districts of the country during the four-day hearing.
Of them, some 1,185 were objection hearings and 708 recommendation hearings.
"We have recorded all the opinions we received. After review, we will publish the final list as soon as possible," Ahmed added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said that the commission had already approved the election roadmap, adding that it would be made public within a day or two.
What happened during the four-day hearing?
- 429 objections and 382 recommendations on 18 constituencies from six districts were heard on 24 August.
- 238 objections and 275 recommendations on 20 constituencies from nine districts were heard on 25 August.
- 259 objections and 50 recommendations on 28 constituencies from six districts were heard on 26 August.
- 259 objections and only one recommendation on 18 constituencies from 12 districts were heard on 27 August.
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