Published : 26 Aug 2026, 02:45 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:35 AM
The Election Commission (EC) has been pushing ahead with plans to finalise the voter list and a list of possible polling stations for local government elections this month.
Preparations for the vote have also begun on other fronts.
The EC is aiming to wrap up all polling-centre-related groundwork by October, with voting itself planned for November, officials said on Tuesday.
The commission is due to call on the president on Thursday, when it will brief the newly appointed head of state on its work.
It will settle on a polling date after talks with the government, treating the six months from November through April as the ideal window for local polls.
An election commissioner said the poll date would likely fall in early November, once amendments to the law and the election conduct rules are wrapped up next month.
The law ministry has already vetted new codes of conduct for union councils, municipalities, Upazilas, districts and city corporations.
Work on amending the election conduct rules and the law itself is still under way.
The inspector general of police and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) director general have already visited the Nirbachan Bhaban to brief the chief election commissioner on the latest security preparations.
State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said on Tuesday he would sit with the EC next week to discuss the local polls.
President Meeting Thursday
The AMM Nasir Uddin-led Election Commission will pay a courtesy call on the new president on Thursday.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said on Tuesday that the commission would brief the president on its activities.
He said all preparations for holding the local government elections would be completed by October, while voting is planned for November.
Masud said the plan was based on preparations for the polls, budget allocation and a review of the readiness of law-enforcing agencies.
Will Voting Begin with Union Councils?
The EC could open the local election cycle with union council polls, with discussions under way over a schedule that allows 40 to 45 days' notice.
Talks are also on over holding municipality polls alongside them, with a final call to be made at a commission meeting.
Masud said preparations were under way not just among police, BGB and Ansar personnel deployed for polling duty, but also among school and college teachers and institutions that would serve as polling stations.
Only once that groundwork is done will the commission move to fix a polling date.
"We've held talks between the chief election commissioner and several top law-enforcing officials. A meeting between the commission and law enforcement agencies will follow soon," he added.
When Was the Last Vote Held?
All local government bodies, which serve five-year terms, are now due for fresh elections.
Once voting across the four tiers of local government wraps up, the district council elections will follow through indirect voting.
• The latest union council elections were held in seven phases in April, November and December 2021, and January and February 2022. Around 4,500 union councils are now due for elections.
• Municipal elections were held in six phases in December 2020 and January, February and April 2021. There are 330 municipalities.
• There are 500 Upazila councils. The latest elections were held in four phases between March and June 2024, followed by a special phase covering polls that had been postponed, bringing the total to nearly 500 Upazilas.
• Among the 13 city corporations, the latest election was held in Mymensingh in March 2024. Bogura City Corporation was formed in May this year.
• Dhaka North and South city corporations held elections in Feb 2020, Chattogram City in Jan 2021, Cumilla City in Jun 2022 and Rangpur City Corporation in Dec 2022.
• Gazipur City followed in May 2023, with Khulna, Barishal, Rajshahi and Sylhet city corporations all going to the polls in Jun that year.
