Local govt polls may begin early next year

Local government elections may begin early next year and be completed by June 6, according to Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam, although the Election Commission (EC) has yet to finalise the schedule.

The elections will cover union parishads, upazila parishads, municipalities and city corporations.
Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the state minister said the EC had informed the government after an inter-ministerial meeting that it wanted to complete all local government elections by June 6.

However, the Local Government Ministry has not received any official election schedule from the commission.
Asked whether the polls would begin this year, Mir Shahe Alam said the EC’s proposed timeline indicated that the elections would start next year. He stressed that the final decision rested with the EC.

He said another inter-ministerial meeting could be held at the end of this month or in the first week of October, with representatives from different ministries attending. The EC is expected to finalise the election schedule after considering the issues raised at the meeting.

The government wants all local government elections completed within the current financial year, but it will not determine when the polls will begin, the state minister said.

According to an initial estimate by the EC, around Tk6,000 crore may be required to hold the five types of local government elections.

The commission had earlier planned to begin the polls with union parishad elections on November 12. However, following discussions with government ministries, it revised the plan, citing examinations and religious festivals.

The EC later considered announcing the election schedule in November and holding the first round of voting in January.
Meanwhile, the commission has postponed its planned talks with registered political parties on the local government elections. The talks were scheduled to be held in three phases from Wednesday to Friday.

EC Public Relations Director Abdul Momin Sarker confirmed the postponement on Tuesday, saying the talks had been put on hold until further instructions.