Election campaign ends at 8am Friday

Candidates of the 12th parliamentary elections and their supporters were passing a hectic day in their last time electioneering on Thursday as the Election Commission (EC) put a ban on campaigning over the polls from 8am Friday.

The candidates, however, could continue preparatory works for polls amid ban on electioneering.

The election campaigning, however, began with the allocation of the electoral symbols on December 18.

According to the 78 section of the Representation of People Order (RPO) 1972, none would be allowed to call or join any public rally, street rally and procession in the electoral areas before and after 48 hours of the voting, EC Director (Public Relations) Shariful Alam said on Thursday.

As the voting will start from 8am on January 7 and will continue till 4pm on the day, he said, the Member of Parliament (MP) aspirants must conclude their electioneering before 8am on Friday and could not seek vote using mike after this time.

Though the EC declared election schedule for all 300 constituencies simultaneously across the country, the polls will be held in 299 seats as a contestant of Naogaon-2 constituency died.

According to EC officials, a total of 1,970 candidates, including 1,534 from 28 political parties and 436 independents, are vying in the January 7 polls in 299 parliamentary seats.

The government has declared the election day, January 7, as a public holiday.

Armed forces have already been deployed across the country ahead of the national election slated for January 7.

They will remain deployed from January 3 to January 10 to ensure peace and order before, during, and after the election day, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release on Tuesday (January 02, 2024).

The army in coordination with the BGB and Coast Guard will perform duty in 47 bordering upazilas and four coastal upazilas respectively.