The Election Commission (EC) has set July 31 as the deadline for eligible citizens to register as voters for the upcoming local government elections, with Union Parishad polls expected to begin in October.
The EC is expected to announce the election schedule in mid-August.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said preparations for the elections were underway and the commission would be ready whenever the government decided to hold the polls.
"Those who become 18 years old by July 31 and are included in the updated voter list will be eligible to vote in the local government elections," he said.
According to the EC's Union Parishad election roadmap, elections were held in 3,981 union parishads during 2021-22, 110 during 2022-23 and 92 during 2023-24. Elections in 108 union parishads have remained pending because of court cases, boundary disputes and other complications.
Bangladesh has 4,580 union parishads. Of them, 3,981 are scheduled to go to the polls this year, while the remaining ones are expected to hold elections in 2027 and 2028.
The municipality election roadmap shows that 320 of the country's 330 municipalities are eligible for elections, while polls in 10 municipalities remain on hold because of legal complications.
According to the upazila parishad roadmap, all 500 upazilas, including the five newly created ones, are eligible for elections as none currently has elected representatives.
The roadmap also says all 13 city corporations, including the newly formed Bogra City Corporation, currently have no elected representatives and are due for elections.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
