Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal said today there is a crisis in the country over the upcoming national election.

"The country is in a crisis over the election," he said addressing members of the election inquiry committee at the opening ceremony of a workshop on electoral rules and code of conduct at the electoral training institute on Monday (27 November).

He said the political division in the country over the election is undesirable.

"Free and fair elections must be held to save democracy," he said.

The CEC also directed those who have been assigned election duties to monitor if anyone is violating the code of conduct.

"You should perform the election duties with honesty and bravery. We expect everyone to perform their duties impartially and faithfully," he said.

"You will apply the law correctly. You will help as much as you can to protect the electoral system of the country," added the CEC.

"Elections must be ensured to keep democracy alive. We, the administration, could not control irregularities during the by-elections, we have to come out of this practice," Kazi Habibul Awal said.

The 12th Jatiya Sangsad election will be held on 7 January, the Election Commission announced on 15 November amid staunch objections from the opposition parties, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

CEC Kazi Habibul Awal, announcing the schedule during a live telecast, invited all parties to participate in the polls as "there is an environment of holding free, fair and participatory polls".

He also stated that political parties will be able to submit nominations for candidacies till 30 November.

Rejecting the election schedule, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi warned that the country was now headed towards an "inevitable conflict".

The ruling Awami League welcomed the EC announcement, saying it goes in line with the constitution and elections will be held accordingly.

Jatiya Party and other political parties have announced to join the polls.

The polls schedule came when opposition parties insisted a fair election is not possible under the AL rule and that consensus was yet to be reached regarding the form of government that would be in place during the election.

The CEC, however, said, "We have held discussions with various stakeholders on numerous occasions. Heard them out, heard their suggestions, and explained our position. We have also called different political parties for dialogue."

The Election Commission will scrutinise the nomination submissions from 1-4 December. Appeals against the nominations can be submitted from 6-5 December and nominations need to be withdrawn by 17 December.

The CEC also said political parties will be able to distribute symbols within 18 December and the election campaign will officially kick off on 18 December. The campaign duration will end at 8:00am on 5 January.

To conduct the election on 300 constituencies, the EC has appointed a total of 66 returning officers and 592 assistant returning officers.