Around 4,700 local government bodies are legally eligible for elections, but the polls are unlikely to be held this year despite the Election Commission’s readiness.
Instead, the BNP government plans to begin local government elections in phases early next year, allowing time to settle party nominations, local political calculations and internal organisational issues, according to multiple government sources.
The sources said BNP has yet to fully organise its party activities after forming the government following the 13th parliamentary election. Alongside running the government, it must deal with candidate selection, nominations and disputes among local leaders and activists that emerged during the parliamentary polls.
These considerations are behind the plan to defer local government elections until next year, the sources said.
Under the government’s plan, union parishad elections will be held first in phases, followed by polls to other local government bodies.
Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir recently said union parishad elections would be held early next year. He said local government could not be strengthened without empowering elected chairmen and members and involving them in development activities.
The government had initially signalled that local elections would be held soon after the BNP’s landslide victory in the February general election.
Fakhrul later told parliament that, taking floods and the heatwave into account, the polls could begin in phases from September to October.
That prompted EC to prepare for an October start.
Election Commissioner Anwarul Islam Sarker recently said the commission was ready and that the first phase could be held in October, with the schedule potentially announced in August.
EC had also announced plans to publish the updated final voter list on 31 August and the final list of polling centres on 27 August.
But EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said last week that the government had yet to give the commission any clear direction on local elections.
He said there was normally a 45-day gap between the announcement of the election schedule and polling day, while finalising and printing voter lists required another one and a half months. Overall preparations take around three months.
Around 4,700 bodies eligible
According to EC officials, around 4,700 local government bodies are now within the legal timeframe for elections.
These include 13 city corporations, 495 upazila parishads, 330 municipalities, more than 3,800 union parishads and 61 district councils.
Officials said the law requires elections within 180 days of a council being dissolved. However, political disagreements over holding local polls before the national election prevented voting within the stipulated timeframe.
Since BNP formed the government, no letter has been sent to EC asking it to hold the polls.
The commission, however, says it is prepared. Election materials have been procured and budget allocations are in place.
EC is also preparing proposals to amend important provisions of relevant election laws and rules, which officials believe could be finalised quickly if the government moves ahead.
EC sources said more than 3,800 of the country’s 4,500-plus union parishads had become legally eligible for elections by August. More than 800 others will become eligible in phases by December.
Following the interim government’s removal of municipal mayors, nearly all 330 municipalities and all 495 upazila parishads are also eligible for polls. There are no legal barriers to elections to the 61 district councils.
City corporations are in a similar position.
According to EC data, the tenure of Dhaka North City Corporation expired on 2 June 2025 and that of Dhaka South City Corporation on 1 June 2025. Chattogram City Corporation’s tenure ended on 22 February this year.
The tenures of Narayanganj, Cumilla and Rangpur city corporations are due to expire in 2027; those of Sylhet, Rajshahi, Gazipur, Barishal and Khulna in 2028; and that of Mymensingh in 2029.
However, the mayoral posts became vacant earlier following the removal of the mayors, leaving no legal barrier to elections.
Govt sends only UP data to EC
As part of preparations for local government polls, the Local Government Division has sent the commission updated information only on union parishads.
EC wrote to the division on 10 March seeking updated information on city corporations, municipalities, upazila parishads, district councils and union parishads, asking for the information by 15 March.
Nearly five months later, only the union parishad data has been sent.
EC Senior Assistant Secretary Mohammad Shahjalal told TIMES, “The letter has not yet reached our branch. However, information on all local government bodies had been sought from the Local Government Division.”
Asked how many union parishads were eligible for elections, he said, “Around 4,000 union parishads are eligible for elections. However, there may be court cases concerning some of these bodies.”
A senior EC election wing official said the information would now be analysed to determine which union parishads are legally eligible and which could go to the polls in each phase.
“UP elections are held in several phases. Information from the Local Government Division is sent to local election officials. They subsequently inform the commission when elections would be convenient in particular areas, which are flood-prone, where winter voting would be better and where elections can be held immediately. The phases will be determined after considering these factors,” he said.
Ziaur Rahman, deputy secretary of the Union Parishad-1 Branch of the Local Government Division, told TIMES, “We have sent Election Commission information on all union parishads. The commission will now determine which ones are eligible for elections. We have only provided the overall information.”
