Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud has said that announcing the schedule for local government elections requires coordination with the government on several issues.
He said it would not be logical for the Election Commission (EC) to make a clear announcement without both written and informal discussions with the government.
“We are moving forward with October in mind. If the election is held in October, the schedule must be announced at least 45 days in advance,” he said.
He made the remarks on Monday at a fruit festival organised by the Reporters’ Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at the Election Building in Agargaon, Dhaka.
He said the commission has not yet taken any formal decision regarding which tier of local government elections will be held first. However, considering practical and administrative realities, Union Parishad and municipality elections are the most likely to be held in the first phase.
He said the formation of Upazila Parishads depends on the completion of Union Parishad and municipality elections. Therefore, the commission is planning to conduct those two elections first, followed by Upazila Parishad polls.
The election commissioner said several factors are taken into account while fixing the election schedule, including public examinations, religious festivals and observances, the monsoon season, and geographical and communication conditions in different parts of the country.
“The commission will announce the final election schedule after reviewing all these issues,” he said.
Regarding formal communication with the government, Masud said no official discussion has yet taken place and the commission has not received any formal letter from the government.
“However, the commission is moving ahead with all preparations on its own initiative. Once formal communication with the government begins, we are hopeful that all preparations for holding the elections can be completed within one to one-and-a-half months,” he added.
Replying to a question, he said it could take around one year to complete elections for Union Parishads, municipalities, Upazila Parishads, Zila Parishads and city corporations in phases.
The election commissioner said the work to amend relevant laws, rules and the electoral code of conduct for local government elections is now at its final stage.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said all preliminary preparations for local government elections are underway. He noted that ministers and members of the cabinet have already spoken about the issue in Parliament.
He added that the Election Commission has also begun all necessary preparations for holding the polls. “From next week, our Senior Secretary will be able to provide regular updates on this matter,” he said.
“We have already worked on the code of conduct and uploaded it to our website. We have received observations on the code of conduct from stakeholders. We have reviewed the laws and are working on necessary adjustments if required,” he added.
On delimitation, he said coordination with the Local Government Division and relevant institutions would be strengthened to ensure that boundary-related issues are resolved quickly.
He added that preparations were being made in line with the standard of the national election. “Insha’Allah, we will be able to conduct a good local government election,” he said.
RFED President Kazi Emad Uddin Jebel chaired the event, moderated by General Secretary Ikram-ud-Doula. Election Commissioners Tahmida Ahmad and Anwarul Islam Sarkar, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, Chief Information Commissioner Syed Abdal Ahmed, and Managing Director of the Journalists’ Welfare Trust Bashir Jamal were also present.
