DHAKA: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on Tuesday said the elections for Dhaka City Corporations would not be possible to hold in January.

“It will not be possible to hold the elections in Dhaka City Corporations in January. We will need more time to take preparations,” he said.

The chief election commissioner made the assertion while talking to journalists at Election Commission (EC) media center in the city.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at cabinet meeting asked the authorities concerned to hold the elections by this winter.

Kazi Rakibuddin also told the journalists that the polls for Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are not possible within January. “I need time for area demarcation, printing voter list and schedule announcement,” he added.

If local government ministry fixes the boundary and informs the EC, they will start the electoral process, the CEC added.

Kazi Rakibuddin said that the process of voter list update is underway. “If we ignore this process, some half million of voters will be deprived from their rights to cast votes,” he added.

According to him, the EC usually avoid holding elections during public examinations. The examination schedules can be considered for arranging elections.

EC secretary Mohammad Sirajul Islam and joint secretary Jesmin Tuli were also present at the briefing.

BDST: 1725 HRS, DEC 09, 2014