Elections to about 4,500 union parishads (UP) are likely to start simultaneously across the country in February-March next year. Earlier, the Election Commission (EC) will hold Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and pourasabha (municipality) polls in December this year, according to EC sources.
The EC will send a letter to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives to inform its inability to hold the UP elections by December this year due to annual examinations of educational institutions and holy Eid-ul-Azha. The letter will be sent to the LGRD ministry by this week, according to EC sources.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday told reporters that the EC had been taking preparation to hold DCC and pourasabhas polls by December while the UP elections would be held later on.
Sources said, the EC wanted to hold the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) election in December while UP and pourasabha early next year but the government was giving to hold the pourasabhas and union parishad elections before DCC poll.
The Government has already brought some amendments to the pourasabhas and the union parishad laws to remove obstacles to hold the local bodies’ election immediately.
Out of 4, 504, tenures of 4,228 UPs have already expired. Of these, elections of 50 UPs were not held in the last 18 years legal complexities, EC sources said.
