Bangladesh Bank has decided to keep all scheduled banks open across the country on Saturday (December 27), a weekly holiday, to facilitate the submission of nomination papers by candidates participating in the 13th National Parliament election.
The decision was taken at the request of the Election Commission, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday (December 24). The statement said that banks will remain open to ensure the convenience of depositing candidates’ deposits and purchasing voter list CDs through bank drafts, pay orders or treasury challans.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the last day for filing nomination papers is December 29. Earlier, the commission said that banks would be closed for three consecutive days due to the Christmas holiday on December 25 and the weekend holidays on December 26 and 27, which could have created complications for candidates.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Hossain said that taking this situation into consideration, a letter was sent to Bangladesh Bank to keep banks open on Saturday, in light of which the decision came into effect.