The presidential election in Bangladesh will be held within February 23.
While talking to reporters Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam said this on Sunday after a meeting held at the EC building in capital’s Agargaon.
"The process has already been started. We will contact the Parliament Secretariat and fix the date of the Chief Election Commissioner's meeting with the Speaker," he said.
It may be recalled that current president Abdul Hamid cannot be elected president for another term as the country's Constitution allows a maximum of two terms for a person in the post of President.
Abdul Hamid is the only President who has been serving for two consecutive terms. His second and last tenure will expire on April 24 this year.
On April 24, 2013, Abdul Hamid was sworn in as the 20th President of Bangladesh.
After the end of his first tenure, Hamid also took oath as the president on the same date in 2018 for the second term.
Lawmakers vote in the presidential election, which is supposed to be held in the House with the CEC acting as the election officer.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has finalised the draft of a legal amendment, proposing to double the amount of the security deposit to Tk 20,000 in the election for women's reserved seats in parliament.
Along with it, some other provisions of the amendment to the Jatiya Sangsad (Women's Reserved Seat) Election Act 2004 were finalised in a meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, on Sunday.
The draft will be sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for vetting, Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam told reporters.
"These amendments were crucial. After the ministry’s vetting, it will be presented to the cabinet for approval and then will be tabled in parliament,” he said.
“Though the number of women's reserved seats has been increased from 45 to 50, the change was not included in the actual law, rather it was attached to a schedule in the Constitution. This time we are making it formal by adding it to the law,” Jahangir said.
The amendment has also reset the timeframe for holding the election for a reserved seat at 90 days, up from 45 days now.
