The 12th national parliamentary election will be held on Sunday, January 7, 2024.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal announced the schedule for the upcoming general election on Wednesday evening while addressing the nation.
The CEC said the last day to submit nomination papers will be November 30 while scrutiny of nomination papers will be from December 1 to December 4.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 17, while on December 18, the EC will allot election symbols to candidates.
The CEC also said the election campaign will be run from December 18 to January 5, 2024 midnight.
The announcement came amid the BNP's 48-hour blockade, which aims to mount pressure on the Awami League government to resign and make way for the election to be held under a non-partisan administration.
Prior to the announcement of the schedule, the CEC convened the 26th EC meeting with all other election commissioners to finalize the schedule at his office in Dhaka around 5pm.
The CEC announced the polls schedule in a televised speech for the first time in the history of Bangladesh.
Earlier, the chief election commissioners used to air the recorded version of the polls schedule to address the nation.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in important government offices including the Nirbachan Bhaban and secretariet in the capital centring the announcement.
Apart from police, RAB and Ansar personnel have been deployed in front of the EC building. Entry of visitors has been restricted inside the building.
The Election Commission is determined to hold the next general election within the stipulated time as per its constitutional obligation.
The 11th national election was held on December 30, 2018.
According to the constitution, the tenure of the current government will end on January 29, 2024.
