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A second wave of coronavirus infection sweeping across Bangladesh has forced the Election Commission to postpone the polls to union councils and municipalities, and the by-election to a parliament seat, all slated for Apr 11.
EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath announced the decision after a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commission KM Nurul Huda on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.
The first phase union council polls to 371 Union Parishads of 64 Upazilas in 19 districts, 11 municipalities in the six the phase, and the by-election to Lakshmipur-2 seat were slated for Apr 11.
Ashok said the elections will be held once the situation improves. The candidates will resume campaign after the new dates are announced.
Everything came to a standstill after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown for two months when Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases in March 2020. The restrictions were gradually relaxed with the number of cases falling gradually.
In mid-February, the daily count of cases dipped, yielding the positivity rate below 3.0 per cent, while it reversed the trend at the the end of February. Bangladesh on Thursday logged 6,469 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily count, taking the tally of infections to 617,764. The death toll climbed by 59 in 24 hours to 9,105, according to data released by the government.
Under the circumstances, the government issued an 18-point directive, reimposing curbs on assembly and shutting down tourism centres. Public transports have been ordered to carry passengers to half of their capacity and the offices to run with 50 per cent of their workforce.