The Election Commission postponed all of its preparatory activities for holding the general election scheduled for January 22, EC sources said on Friday.

It has unofficially directed the printing presses to halt ballot-paper printing. In the morning, government officials from different districts came to the EC to collect election materials. But the EC unofficially told them that the process was “suspended for some days”, the sources said. On Thursday night, President Iajuddin Ahmed in his address to the nation said that the electoral roll in the process of updating the voters’ list was ridden with various wrongs and it is imperative to prepare a flawless voters’ list. He also noted that it is imperative to hold the election in a free and fair atmosphere. So, it is not possible to hold an acceptable election without correcting the voters’ list. The acting CEC, a lone commissioner, the EC secretary and additional secretary held meeting Friday morning and afternoon at the commission in the changed context. But none of them did inform newsmen about what transpired. “There is no news,” the acting CEC, Justice Mahfujur Rahman, told the reporters.

“If the election is postponed, you’ll be informed,” he replied to another query. The EC secretary, M Abdur Rashid Sarker, also declined to say anything about the EC-meeting proceedings.