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allow campaigning through billboards, and expand the use of social media for campaigning.

Masud said the EC is considering measures to prevent MPs from influencing upazila parishad elections.

“Since MPs have offices in upazilas, there is always scope for influence. We are thinking of including provisions in the code of conduct so they do not go, or go less often, to upazila parishads during elections,” he said.

On raising security deposits, he said the move aims to discourage non-serious candidates.

“If too many candidates contest, ballot papers become larger, and the costs will rise. Voters may also get confused. We want only genuine candidates to run,” he said.

Under the existing city corporation election laws, mayoral candidates must deposit Tk 20,000 in constituencies with up to five lakh voters. The amount rises to Tk 30,000 for areas with 5.01 lakh to 10 lakh voters, Tk 50,000 for 10 lakh to 20 lakh voters, and Tk 1 lakh for areas with over 20 lakh voters.

For ward councillor posts, the security deposit ranges from Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000 based on the number of voters. For reserved women’s councillor posts, the security deposit is Tk 10,000.

For the upazila elections in 2024, the EC had raised the chairman’s deposit from Tk 10,000 to Tk 1 lakh. Deposits for candidates in municipality, district council, and union parishad elections vary depending on the number of voters.

EC officials also said the commission is developing election calendar software -- Election Schedule Management Module (EMS) -- to help announce local election schedules on time.

EC’s Deputy Secretary Mohammad Monir Hossain said the software is being updated with information, including the date of the last election and gazette publication, along with ward demarcations and voter list revisions.