Published: ২৩ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০২৬, ১১:৫০ এএম
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Bangladesh’s Election Commission plans to complete the country’s local government elections by June 6 next year, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam said on Wednesday .
The specific dates for the elections have not yet been finalised, he said.
Shahe Alam made the remarks in response to questions from journalists at a news conference at the Secretariat on the installation of rooftop solar panels and the use of solar power at offices and institutions under the Local Government Division.
The state minister said the Election Commission had told an inter-ministerial meeting that it wanted to complete elections to Union Parishads, upazila councils, municipalities, city corporations and other local government bodies by June 6.
The ministry, however, has not yet been formally informed when the elections will begin or when each phase will be held.
The commission may take Ramadan, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations and annual school examinations in December into consideration when drawing up the election schedule, Shahe Alam said.
The use of educational institutions as polling centres is also being considered.
“I would not say when it will start,” Shahe Alam said.
“The Election Commission will decide when to start. It will conduct the elections. Why should the government announce the starting date?”
Asked whether local government elections would begin this year, the state minister said the timeline given by the Election Commission suggested to him that the polls were more likely to begin next year. He stressed, however, that the final decision rested with the commission.
He said another inter-ministerial meeting could be held at the end of September or in the first week of October, with representatives from different ministries attending. The Election Commission would then finalise the election schedule.
The government wants the local government elections completed within the current 2026-27 financial year, Shahe Alam said, but it would not decide when the elections should begin. Recent statements by the Election Commission indicate that the schedule remains under consideration, with the June 6 deadline driven in part by the examination calendar.
The Election Commission’s preliminary estimate suggests that around Tk 6,000 crore may be needed to conduct elections to the five tiers of local government, Shahe Alam said.
Of that, about Tk 2,700 crore to Tk 2,800 crore could be required for Union Parishad elections and Tk 2,200 crore to Tk 2,300 crore for upazila elections.
Municipal and city corporation elections are expected to cost comparatively less, he said.
The government is prepared to provide funding broadly in line with the estimated requirement, although the final figure could be somewhat higher or lower, Shahe Alam said.
The five tiers covered by the planned elections are city corporations, municipalities, district councils, upazila councils and Union Parishads.
Asked whether the recent increase in fuel prices could affect the local government elections, Shahe Alam said it was too early to comment because the election dates had not yet been fixed.
The state minister was also asked about a recent remark by Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman that the fuel-price increase could pose a political risk ahead of the local government elections.
“It would have been better to ask him that question,” Shahe Alam said, declining to comment on the adviser’s assessment.
He said the election schedule had not yet been announced and there were no formally declared candidates. It was therefore too early to say whether the fuel-price increase had created a risk for candidates.
“Once the election takes place, we will understand the people’s reaction,” he said.
Zahed Ur Rahman had said on Sept. 22 that the impact of fuel prices could carry a risk in local government elections, while acknowledging that higher fuel prices were causing hardship for people.
