AHMED DEEPTO

The Election Commission has begun drafting a unified code of conduct for elections to all five local government tiers, with provisions to ban posters and increase security deposits for the polls, likely to be held later this year.

As part of the preparation, the commission is also working to amend relevant laws and regulations, as existing codes of conduct vary across different local government tiers.

An EC meeting is scheduled for today at 10:30am to discuss the proposed reforms, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud told The Daily Star.

“The discussion will focus on what changes are needed in the law and what amendments should be made to election rules and codes of conduct,” he said.

He also said a final draft will be prepared after the meeting and later placed before the full commission for approval.

Masud said several reforms are being considered. “Posters will not be allowed. Online submission of nomination papers will not continue. Independent candidates will no longer need to submit documents showing minimum support.”

He added, “There should be a single code of conduct for all local government tiers.”

The EC is preparing to hold elections to five non-partisan local government bodies -- city corporations, municipalities, district councils, upazila parishads, and union parishads.

Bangladesh currently has 13 city corporations, 500 upazila parishads, 61 district councils, and 4,580 union parishads.

The commission faces a backlog of local government elections, as the tenures of many bodies have already expired. No local government polls have been held in more than two years.

After the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, the interim government did not arrange any local polls. An ordinance was issued to suspend voting with party symbols.

EC officials said local government laws and regulations will be aligned with the Representation of the People Order (RPO), election rules, and codes of conduct.

The commission is also reviewing proposals to increase security deposits,

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