Dhaka, Dec. 10 -- After two years, the Election Commission (EC) stands on the brink of declaring the schedule for Bangladesh's next parliamentary polls.

The timetable for the 13th national election, coupled with the nation's first simultaneous referendum, has reached near-finalisation, officials say.

The commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, faces a historic challenge: managing a referendum alongside the general election in a single day.

This comes as part of efforts to erase the electoral stigma of past Awami League administrations and to advance key state reforms -- a test the EC insists it is ready to confront.

Election authorities indicate the commission, now nearly a year old, has finalised arrangemen...