The Election Commission has finalised a five-phase schedule for Union Parishad elections across the country, with the first round of voting set for 21 January 2027. The decision was taken at a commission meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the EC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka, on 12 October.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah said polls would be held in about 4,500 union councils. The first phase will cover 815 union councils in 80 upazilas. The remaining phases are scheduled for 4 February, 29 April, 13 May and 27 May 2027.

The final plan replaces an earlier tentative timetable. On 14 September, the commission had outlined seven phases beginning on 12 November. At a meeting with relevant ministries and departments on 17 September, difficulties with holding polls in November and December were raised, and the commission later settled on five phases starting in January.

Union Parishads are the closest tier of elected local government for most rural citizens. Each council has an elected chairman and members, and residents turn to them for services such as birth and death registration, certificates, local roads, social safety net lists and village courts.

What it means for Munshiganj: the district has six upazilas, Munshiganj Sadar, Sreenagar, Lohajang, Tongibari, Sirajdikhan and Gazaria, and their unions will all go to the polls during this cycle. The commission has not yet published which unions fall in each phase, so voters and prospective candidates in Munshiganj should watch for the phase-wise list. The detailed timetable for submitting nominations, scrutiny and withdrawal is announced separately for each phase.

With the first phase about eleven weeks away, now is a good time for residents to make sure their voter registration details are correct and to keep their national identity cards ready. Information on schedules and voter registration is available through the Election Commission's official channels and the local election offices in each upazila.

Photo: W.carter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons