If BNP wants to join the polls, the election commission will consider giving them their required space, said Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana in Rajshahi today.

She made the remarks after a meeting with election officials and law enforcement agencies for the upcoming polls at Rajshahi Shilpakala Academy.

"We can't say whether BNP will join the election or not. If any political party refrains from joining the election, there is no bar in the laws saying that the elections can't take place," she said.

"If they truly want to join the polls, we will sit to consider how to give them the space and will find a way. But they must come forward within a specific time before the polls," she said.

She said the EC will welcome foreign observers to ensure transparency.

DCs, SPs, UNOs, OCs, and Ansar officials, along with district and upazila level election officials from Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore, and Pabna joined the meeting.

The officials were instructed to take necessary steps to make the election free and fair and to ensure that the candidates follow the polls' code of conduct, said Rashida.