Thakurgaon-1 by-election schedule this week

The Election Commission (EC) will announce the schedule for the by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 constituency later this week, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at the Election Commission building in Agargaon on September 6, he said preparations for the by-election were already underway.

“The schedule for the Thakurgaon-1 by-election will be announced this week,” the EC secretary said.

The parliamentary seat was declared vacant on August 22 after its elected member Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir assumed office as the country’s 23rd president.

A notification issued by the Parliament Secretariat said the seat became vacant from the day Fakhrul took charge as president, in accordance with Article 50(4) of the Constitution.

EC officials said the Election Operations Branch had already begun preparing the necessary documents for holding the by-election.

Under the Constitution, a vacant parliamentary seat must be filled through an election within 90 days, prompting the commission to expedite preparations.

Fakhrul was elected from Thakurgaon-1 in the 13th parliamentary election. He subsequently assumed the presidency, leaving the constituency vacant.