United News of Bangladesh

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the decision on whether local government elections will be held under party symbols will be taken in Parliament. “It will be decided in the Parliament,” he said when asked whether local government polls would be held with party symbols. Fakhrul came up with the remarks while talking to reporters at the Secretariat after newly appointed administrators of six city corporations joined their offices. Local government elections to be held ‘in due time’: Fakhrul Since government officials had previously been assigned to oversee city corporations, the government believes political appointees would be able to deliver better services to the people. “If political persons are in charge, people will receive services more effectively. That is our belief. That is why we have appointed political individuals as administrators. This will increase engagement with citizens,” he added. When asked for his personal opinion as an experienced politician and minister on holding local polls with party symbols, he said there was no scope for personal views. “We have a party decision and we will act accordingly,” the BNP leader said. BNP’s Nayapaltan office springs back to life with Fakhrul’s visit Responding to a question about whether the issue would be decided in the first session of Parliament scheduled to begin on March 12, he replied, “Of course.” The minister said elections will begin in local government bodies whose terms have already expired. “There is a possibility that two elections may be held before those in Dhaka. Others whose tenure has ended will also go to polls first,” he added. Regarding the timeframe for completing the local government elections, he said it is a continuous process. “It cannot be said right now. Elections will be held in phases. Local government elections are a continuous process—when one body’s tenure ends, elections are held, whether it is a union parishad or an upazila,” he said. State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said political administrators would be able to perform better than bureaucrats due to their closer engagement with the public. He said political administrators have been appointed to make inactive local government bodies functional. After joining office, the six newly appointed administrators pledged to work on mosquito control, traffic congestion, road repairs and other civic issues to reduce public suffering. They said they would undertake a 60-day action plan to ensure improved service delivery.

The government of Bangladesh has issued the “Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025,” with provision that even if registered political parties form an electoral alliance, candidates must contest the polls with their own party symbols. The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Law Ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Monday (3rd November 2025). Earlier, on October 23, the Advisory Council approved the draft amendment of the RPO. During discussions on amending Article 20 related to the use of coalition symbols BNP objected to the change while Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) demanded the provision remain unchanged. Election 2026: EC directs field officials to arrange polls preparation meetings Ultimately, the government retained the rule that candidates in alliances must contest under their respective party symbols. This means that in the upcoming election, candidates nominated under an alliance cannot use the symbol of a larger or allied party but must use their own registered party symbol. The amended ordinance specifies that if two or more registered political parties agree to jointly nominate a candidate, the Election Commission may allocate the symbol reserved for the candidate’s own political party based on his or her party affiliation. Read more: 12-party alliance for allowing alliance candidates to use partner’s symbol

The local government elections will now be held dropping party symbols as a proposal in this regard was approved by the Council of Advisers on Thursday. The proposal for scrapping the provisions for using party symbols in the elections of city corporations, upazilas, pourashavas (municipalities), and union parishad was approved at a meeting of the Council of Advisers. Eliminating unemployment is our biggest challenge: Adviser Asif Mahmud Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul, LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy. "We are returning to the previous system (when local polls used to take place without party symbols)," the Law Adviser said, noting that the party symbols were introduced by the previous government. Magazine containing bullet found in Asif Mahmud's travel bag at Shahjalal; from licensed firearm, he says