The Election Commission (EC) is preparing for a nationwide rollout of local government elections, with officials identifying the period between late October and March as the most suitable time to begin the voting process.
Before launching the elections, the EC aims to complete a comprehensive revision of all election rules and codes of conduct governing local government bodies by June next year. The reforms are intended to modernise electoral procedures and align them with recently amended local government laws that restored non-partisan elections for mayoral and chairman posts.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said the Commission is currently updating separate election rules for city corporations, municipalities, zilla parishads, upazila parishads and union parishads. Although each category will retain its own set of regulations, the codes of conduct are expected to be broadly similar and closely aligned with those used during the 12 February parliamentary election.
According to the EC, elections to union parishads and municipalities should receive priority because the absence of elected representatives in these institutions is affecting the delivery of essential public services at the grassroots level. City corporation elections are expected to be held in the final phase.
The commission plans to conduct the elections in stages to minimise the risk of violence and ensure adequate deployment of law enforcement personnel. Officials estimate that completing elections for all local government bodies could take between 10 and 12 months due to the large number of institutions involved.
As part of the proposed reforms, the EC intends to ban the use of election posters and introduce stricter measures against misinformation, disinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence, particularly on social media platforms. The requirement for collecting signatures from a specified number of voters is likely to be removed, while candidate security deposits may be increased, except for women contesting reserved seats.
Draft versions of the revised rules will be published for public feedback for at least 15 days before finalisation. The commission may also hold consultations with stakeholders to gather opinions on the proposed changes.
According to EC estimates, elections to 12 city corporations, more than 450 upazila parishads, over 300 municipalities and 61 zilla parishads are already overdue. In addition, polls for hundreds of union parishads will become mandatory within the coming months under existing legal provisions.
The EC will announce election schedules once it receives formal approval from the government and a request from the Local Government Division.
.jpg "Measles-related deaths surpass 600 in Bangladesh")
