TIN will suffice, no need for copy of tax return

Prospective contestants in the upcoming elections to Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations will have to mention their Taxpayer's Identification Number (TIN) instead of incorporating tax returns with applications seeking candidacy.

"We have already sent the (finalised) draft amendments [to the Local Government (City Corporation) Election Rules] to the law ministry for vetting," Election Commission (EC) Deputy Secretary Abdul Wadud told The Daily Star last evening.

EC plans to introduce this in all elections. Elections to the two city corporations may be held in the last week of May or the first week of June, said EC sources.

Meanwhile, the EC last week directed Government Printing Press to print over 24 types of forms needed for election management.

"This is our routine works. But these are not nomination forms," said EC Assistant Secretary Syed Golam Rashed.

The last election to an undivided Dhaka City Corporation was held on April 2002 and its tenure expired in May 2007. That of Chittagong City Corporation was held in 2010 and its tenure expires on July 26.

In another development, the election commissioners plan to sit today to discuss allowing commercial banks access to the nation database of voters to verify their information.

Currently, Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, and Department of Immigration and Passports have access.