Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam today (October 22) said the commission will stop distributing smartcards ahead of national polls.

According to EC sources, this decision was taken in a meeting held recently. 

However, EC said smartcard distribution will resume after the elections.

Meanwhile, the EC Secretary also directed the members of NID department to implement the decision to stop NID distribution.

According to EC’s directive, the ongoing smart card distribution program at the field level should be accelerated and completed by October 30, the smart card distribution program will be suspended from November 1 onwards until the end of the National Assembly elections, and instructions should be given for notification of the matter at the field level.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has already earlier said that the schedule for the parliamentary elections will be announced in November. And polling will be done between the last week of December and the first week of January. After that, the distribution of smart cards will restart.

BDST: 1610 HRS, OCT 22, 2023
MSK/SMS