Dhaka, Dec. 8 -- Schedule this week for holding parliamentary polls and referendum early next February with the timing for twin vote extended by an hour, the Election Commission decided Sunday and apprised the government about its preparation.

The one-hour time extension comprises half an hour in the morning and another half an hour in the afternoon. Voting will begin at 7:30am and continue until 4:30pm, without break, the EC announced the decision at a press briefing.

Later in the day, the election commissioners met Chief Adviser of the interim government Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna and briefed him on the EC preparation for conducting the post-uprising national elections and referendum meant for ratifying th...