The Election Commission (EC) will sit with 39 registered political parties for verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and exchange of views on the same in three phases from June 19.   EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath informed the reporters regarding the matter on Tuesday. He said 13 parties including Jatiya Party and another 13 parties including BNP will be called on June 19 and June 21 respectively while 13 parties including Awami League will be invited on June 26. EC informed that each party will be able to send five members of their representative or technical team while the parties will  receive invitation letters in a few days. The EC will decide on the use of EVM in the forthcoming 12th National Assembly elections on the basis of everyone's opinion while the commission has already taken the opinion of the best technologists in the country. Also Read: Next Election Commission: 322 names proposed to search committee published At present, the EC has 1 lakh 54 thousand voting machines, with which it is possible to hold vote in about 100 seats. In 2011, the Election Commission headed by ATM Shamsul Huda introduced EVM voting for the first time. At that time they made a machine from BUET for Tk12000. But that machine failed in the 2015 Rajshahi City Corporation elections. As a result, the Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed Commission decided to make a new and better EVM by eliminating all the machines taken from BUET. KM Nurul Huda's commission made more advanced machines worth Tk 2 lakh from Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory. The present commission headed by Kazi Habibul Awal also wants to use EVM based on everyone's opinion.

The Election Commission will keep the National Identity (NID) services suspended until March 31 as many expatriates, who recently returned home in the wake of global coronavirus outbreak, were gathering to avail of the services.   “We’ve taken the decision to keep the NID services suspended until March 31 considering public safety. The suspension came into effect today (Sunday),” Director General of the National Identity Registration Wing Brig Gen Saidul Islam told UNB.   All sorts of NID services, including fresh registration, correction, recollection and changing (voting) addresses will remain stopped at all the EC offices, including its central and upazila/thana offices across the country, he said.   “Many expatriates who recently returned home are coming to get registered as voters and have NID cards. They need to stand in queues which is endangering the safety of other service-seekers and EC staff. So, we’ve suspended the services receiving complaints from other service-seekers and EC staff,” the NID DG said.   He said most NID service seekers were expatriates in the last few weeks.   He, however, said they will consider providing the services in urgent cases till March 31. “If anyone requires NID services for any urgent need like emergency treatment, we must consider it,” he said.   Later, the commission will take further decision considering the situation of Covid-19, said Saidul Islam.  

The Election Commission on Saturday postponed the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) election slated for March 29 due to the coronavirus scare.

The Election Commission is arranging a display of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on Monday afternoon for journalists as the elections to Dhaka North and South City corporations will be conducted with the use of the machines on January 30 next.