First phase UP polls on Nov 12 

Election Commission (EC) has announced that Union Parishad (UP) elections will be held in seven phases, with the first phase scheduled for November 12. Elections to 4,272 eligible UPs will be held under the schedule. The polling process will continue until May 2027.

Voting will be held in all UPs under 80 upazilas in 63 districts. Thakurgaon has been left out of the first phase due to a by-election.

District headquarters upazilas will also be included in the first phase.

EC Abul Fazl Md Sanauallah shared the poll schedule with reporters after a preparatory meeting on UP elections at the EC Monday afternoon.

According to the EC, there are 4,580 UPs in the country. Of these, 4,272 are currently eligible for elections.

The second phase will be held on December 13 and the third phase on December 30.

The fourth phase is planned for January 17, 2027, while the fifth phase will be held on February 4. The sixth phase is scheduled for April 22, followed by the final phase on May 27.

The EC said it prepared the plan by considering annual examinations, board examinations, Eid and Durga Puja, among other issues.

Most of the Union Parishads will go to the polls in the first five phases. The remaining Union Parishads will be covered in the sixth and seventh phases.

However, the schedule is not final yet. The decisions taken at Monday's preparatory meeting are only preliminary. The EC will finalise the phases and the list of Union Parishads at a later meeting.

The EC also plans to hold talks with all registered political parties soon on the local government elections. The commission plans to invite two representatives from each party.

Sanauallah said the EC would hold the elections under the existing law unless it is amended. If the law is changed, the commission may revise its decisions based on the new situation.

The EC has also decided to hold an inter-departmental meeting on September  21 to discuss law and order and security arrangements for the elections.