Upazila council elections in March
The upazila council elections will be held in March, three months into the general elections, and the vote will be organised in five phases.
The schedule for the Upazila Parishad polls will be announced in the first week of February, said EC Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed in a press briefing on Monday, reports bdnews24.com
Bangladesh currently has 492 Upazila Parishad. The previous elections were held in six phases between March and May 2014 throughout the majority of these local government bodies.
According to law, the elections must be held within 180 days before the incumbent Upazila councils run their term.
The Upazila vote was held in a day in 1990 and 2009 after the local government body was formed in 1985.
The EC plans to continue the trend of conducting the elections swiftly by holding division-wise voting.
Accordingly, the elections in eight divisions will be completed in four days. The polls for the remaining Upazila Councils will be held in the fifth phase.
“The election for the eight divisional Upazilas will be held in four phases over four days.
The elections for the remaining Upazila Parishads will be held in another phase depending on when the terms of these councils expire. Therefore, the election will take place in five phases,” Secretary Helal elaborated.
Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs will be used in the Upazila elections and these will be fully utilised in the Sadar Upazilas, said the EC secretary.
The upcoming elections will be first to be held along party lines following amendments to the law.
