DHAKA, Dec 18: The Election Commission of Bangladesh on Monday fixed Jan 22 as polling date, bringing the schedule forward by a day for a Hindu religious festival. This is for the third time the EC changed the polls day since the election schedules were announced. Originally the parliamentary elections were scheduled for Jan 21, then changed to Jan 23 and now fixed for Jan 22.

A release of the EC said that the rest of the schedules — the last date for submitting nomination papers, scrutiny and withdrawal of candidature — will remain unchanged.

A top official of the EC secretariat, however, hinted that the last date of filing nomination papers and date for withdrawal of candidature will also be changed by one or two days as the Awami League-led alliance called hartal on the last day of filling of nomination papers.

According to the schedule, the last date for submission of nomination papers has been re-fixed on Dec 21 while deadline for the withdrawal of candidature is Dec 28. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on Dec 22.