Presidential election: EC seeks MP list from parliament

As part of preparations for the 23rd presidential election, the Election Commission (EC) has sought the list of members of parliament from the Parliament Secretariat. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the schedule and date for the presidential election will be fixed after the voter list is received.

He was speaking to journalists at the Election Bhaban in Agargaon on Monday (August 3).

Akhtar Ahmed said the date or schedule for the presidential election has not been fixed yet. The commission will discuss and decide on the matter after receiving the voter list from the Parliament Secretariat.

On July 24, the country's 22nd president Md Sahabuddin resigned from office citing personal reasons. He submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad under Article 50(3) of the Constitution. The process for electing a new president has since begun.

Regarding National Identity (NID) card corrections, the EC senior secretary said although a committee was formed on this matter, the recommendations are yet to be finalised. Work is underway to formulate detailed policy guidelines on how correction applications will be verified.

He said many applications contain information inconsistent with reality. For instance, he mentioned that one applicant had sought to correct their date of birth in such a way that they would have become a voter at the age of seven, which is not acceptable.

Akhtar Ahmed further said the NID is a national identity document, while the passport is a travel document. NID information is verified based on birth and death registration data.