"A draft proposal is being prepared for this and will be sent to the chief adviser within a couple of days," Election Commissioner Sahul Hossain disclosed the EC's new move to reporters at his office yesterday.

"The constitution cannot be amended since no parliament exists now. So, it will have to be done through promulgating an ordinance," he said when asked whether any amendments to the constitution were required for this.

However, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda on April 26 said the government does not want to separate the EC Secretariat from the PMO, now the Chief Adviser's Office, as it requires amendment to the constitution. Since then, there has been a debate whether an amendment to the constitution is actually required.

Amid growing debate on the issue, the EC wanted to seek the opinions of legal experts but later decided to go ahead with the ordinance promulgation proposal.

"We will also examine whether the secretariat can be separated from the PMO through promulgating an ordinance or amending the rules of business," Sahul said. "The government wants the Election Commission Secretariat to be separated," Sahul added.

The EC is an independent constitutional body but its secretariat is under the control of the PMO. There has been a demand for its separation from the PMO in the wake of widespread allegations of political interference in the EC Secretariat's job.

When asked how the EC would hold talks with political parties on electoral reforms if the embargo on indoor politics was not withdrawn, the election commissioner said they are optimistic about holding talks with political parties.

"Wait and see," the election commissioner said.

"We will discuss with political parties, if it is possible. We, however, have received significant feedback from eminent personalities of the civil society and journalists on the draft proposals for electoral reforms," Sohul said, adding, "Besides, we have earlier talked with some political parties when they called on the new Election Commission."

A day before announcing the draft proposals for electoral reforms, the CEC at a meeting with the law adviser on April 4 urged the government to withdraw the embargo on indoor politics allowing the EC to hold talks with political parties.

The government still remains silent on the issue. The EC held talks on electoral reforms with eminent personalities of the civil society on April 26 and with senior journalists on May 19.