Dhaka: The Jatiya Party has demanded that the nomination paper submission date for the municipal polls be extended by ten more days.

A five member Jatiya Party team led by its secretary general Ziauddin Bablu placed the demand while meeting Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed at the Election Commission (EC) office at Agargaon in Dhaka on Sunday.

They also demanded for the scope for lawmakers to engage in the election campaign.

The JP team urged the commission to take proper steps to keep the election out of the influence of muscle power and money.

According to the election schedule announced on 24 November, elections to 234 municipalities across the country will be held on 30 December.

The deadline for nomination paper submission is 3 December while the dates for the scrutiny are 5 and 6 December, and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is 13 December.

The municipal elections will partly be held under party line for the first time as Parliament passed the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Bill 2015 on 19 November, paving the path for mayoral candidates to contest the elections with party symbols.