Online Desk: The 12th Jatiya Sangsad election will be held on January 7 (Sunday) next.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal announced the election schedule in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening.

Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar teleacst and broadcast the address at 7:00pm.

According to the schedule, the general elections in 300 constituencies of Jatiya Sangsad will be held on January 7 (Sunday) next year. Appointment of 66 returning officers and 592 assistant returning officers has been finalised.

Regarding the election schedule, the CEC said the deadline for submission of nomination papers is November 30, while December 1-4 was fixes for scrutinising nomination papers and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 17. The returning officers will allocate the election symbols on December 18.

The CEC further said the election campaign will start from December 18 and continue till 8:00am on January 5, 2024.

Earlier at 5:00pm, the CEC led Election Commissioners sat in a meeting at the EC Secretariat. The meeting concluded at 6:30pm. Then the CEC announced the election schedule in his address to the nation.

Four Election Commissioners — Md Ahsan Habib Khan, Rasheda Sultana, Md Alamgir, Md Anisur Rahman, and EC Secretary Md Jahangir Alam were present at the meeting.

The announcement of the polls schedule came amid the ongoing 48-hour blockade called by BNP and like-minded parties to press home their one-point demand for the resignation of the present government.

But, the ruling Awami League is determined for the arrangement of the national election under the present government.

On the other hand, the Election Commission is determined to hold the next general election within the stipulated time as per its constitutional obligation.

The EC has a constitutional obligation to complete the next general election by January 29, 2024 as the day the tenure of the current government (parliament) will end.

A total of 11,96,91,633 voters under 42,103 polling stations throughout the country will have rights to cast their votes in the 12th general election.

The last 11th parliamentary election was held on December 30, 2018.