The Election Commission (EC) has made a preliminary plan to hold the upcoming Union Parishad (UP) elections in seven phases, with the first phase scheduled for November 12.

Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah disclosed the plan at a briefing at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Monday.

Under the preliminary schedule, voting in the first phase will be held in Union Parishads under 80 upazilas.

The second phase is scheduled for December 13, followed by the third phase on December 30.

The fourth phase is tentatively scheduled for January 17, 2027, the fifth for February 4, the sixth for April 22 and the seventh and final phase for May 27, 2027.

The EC said the dates are part of its preliminary plan and may be revised before the official election schedule is announced.

Bangladesh has around 4,580 Union Parishads, which form the grassroots tier of the country’s local government system.

The commission plans to begin the broader local government election process with UP polls before moving on to other local government bodies.

According to the EC, the first phase has been arranged by taking into account the number of upazilas in different districts and other administrative considerations.

Chattogram and Cumilla will have three upazilas each included in the first phase, while districts with 10 or more upazilas will have two upazilas included, according to reports.

The EC had earlier planned to begin local government elections in October. However, that schedule was not implemented.

The commission has since been working on a phased election plan, with preparations including voter lists and polling centres.

The last UP elections were held in several phases between April 2021 and February 2022.

The upcoming polls will therefore mark the next nationwide election cycle for the country’s grassroots local government bodies.

The EC is expected to announce the formal election schedule, including nomination, scrutiny and withdrawal dates, later.

Until then, the announced dates remain tentative.