The government is moving ahead with plans to hold Union Parishad (UP) elections in the first half of October after announcing the election schedule in the second half of August.
Afterwards, it intends to hold elections for municipalities, Upazila Parishads, Zila Parishads and City Corporations in phases.
The Election Commission (EC) has also begun preparations, giving priority to the Union Parishad elections.
Citing Election Commission sources, Zahed Ur Rahman, adviser to the Prime Minister, told a press conference at the Secretariat on Tuesday that the EC had prepared an initial framework for the upcoming local government elections.
It has drafted separate roadmaps for the Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad, Municipality (Pouroshova) and City Corporation elections.
The EC may finalise and publish these roadmaps by the end of the current month.
Zahed Ur Rahman said the government plans to announce the election schedule in the second half of August and hold the Union Parishad elections during the first half of October.
He added that the authorities aim to complete all local government elections within 10 to 12 months after the electoral process begins.
Sources within the Election Commission and the government said that almost all tiers of local government currently lack elected representatives. As a result, the authorities have decided to conduct the elections in phases rather than hold all of them simultaneously.
However, the final timetable will depend on completing constituency delimitation, amendments to the relevant laws and regulations, finalising the electoral code of conduct, and ensuring the necessary coordination with the government.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, minister for Local Government, also said preparations for the local government elections were progressing.
During a courtesy meeting with the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh at the Secretariat on Tuesday, he said, "The Ministry of Local Government and the Election Commission are working to begin Union Parishad elections in phases by next December."
Officials at the Ministry of Local Government said they have completed the necessary preparations for the Union Parishad elections.
They have collected information through Deputy Commissioners on which Union Parishads have completed their five-year terms. The 2026–27 national budget also includes a separate allocation for local government elections.
The Local Government (Union Parishad) Act stipulates that authorities must hold the next Union Parishad election within the 180 days preceding the expiry of the five-year term, calculated from the date of the first meeting of the elected council.
According to the Ministry of Local Government, the first phase of the most recent Union Parishad elections took place on 21 June 2021, when voters elected representatives in 204 Union Parishads.
These 204 Union Parishads are located in the districts of Barishal, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur, Bhola, Barguna and Patuakhali. Their five-year terms have already expired.
Local Government ministry officials told Prothom Alo that, like the previous administration, the current government also plans to conduct the Union Parishad elections in several phases.
Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) in an interview that the Election Commission is ready to conduct elections in more than 4,500 Union Parishads.
He said work on amending the relevant laws, rules and the electoral code of conduct for the local government elections has reached its final stage.
The Commission has already published the draft code of conduct on its website. It will finalise the code after reviewing feedback from political parties, civil society, the media and the public and incorporating any necessary revisions.
Speaking at a programme organised by the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at the Election Building on Monday, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said, "The Election Commission needs to coordinate with the government on many aspects of the local government elections. Government departments are involved in matters ranging from constituency delimitation to various administrative issues. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Election Commission to make a definitive announcement on the local government elections without formal and informal discussions with the government. However, the Election Commission is continuing its preparations with October in view."
At the same programme, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said, "The Commission has completed all preliminary preparations for the local government elections. We have published the draft electoral code of conduct on the website. The Local Government Division is responsible for delimiting local government electoral boundaries. The Election Commission has decided to coordinate with the relevant authorities to ensure that this process is completed as quickly as possible."
The Election Commission believes that maintaining law and order will be the biggest challenge in conducting the local government elections.
Competition at the local level is particularly intense in Union Parishad elections, and previous elections have seen incidents of conflict and violence.
This time, the Commission plans to hold the elections in phases and assess the experience from each phase before finalising security arrangements for the next.
Initially, it plans to conduct the elections with personnel from the Bangladesh Police, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Bangladesh Ansar deployed to maintain security.
