Nation eagerly awaits local polls

Musfiqur Rahman

The country will hold Union Parishad (UP) elections with nonparty symbols again after almost a decade. For a long time after party symbols entered local government polls, voting took place under party identity and symbols. Now the Election Commission (EC) has moved away from that system. Under the amended Union Parishad Election Rules, 2026, no political party symbol will appear in the coming UP elections.

The EC has set 42 symbols in total for the posts of chairman, general member and reserved women member. For the chairman post, it has kept 20 symbols. These are computer, banana bunch, bell, horse, prawn, jug, table, table clock, telephone, building, double decker bus, turban, baby taxi, peacock, mobile phone, motorcycle, stool, rail engine, sofa and duck. Earlier, party nominated candidates ran for the chairman post with party symbols.

For the general member post, the symbols are camel, cup and saucer, kite, ship, torchlight, tube well, tractor, lock, football, electric fan, electric bulb and rooster. For the reserved women member post, the symbols are almirah, pitcher, dressing table, palanquin, fruit basket, microphone, sewing machine, sunflower, deer and helicopter.

After independence, the country held its first UP election in December 1973. Then UP elections took place in 1977, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1997 and 2003. In all those years, the rules did not allow national political party symbols in local government polls. A big reform of local government came in the time of Mr. Ziaur Rahman. In 1976, the government took steps to rebuild the local government structure through the Local Government Ordinance.

After the BNP government came to power in 1991, it again took steps to reshape the local government structure. It ended the Upazila Parishad system and formed a commission to review the structure. During the government of Ms. Khaleda Zia, UP elections took place from January to February 1992. The era of party symbols in local polls began in 2015.

The Awami League government changed the law, and in the 2016 UP election, voters for the first time voted on party symbols for the chairman post. This tied local polls more closely to national politics. During this time, charges and rows arose over how the polls were run, the role of the administration and political influence. Many parties and candidates made such charges while the polls used party symbols.

They also complained about the influence of the ruling party. This was especially so in local polls under the Awami League government. Opposition parties and rival candidates raised charges of bias, use of influence and a poor election climate.

Professor Dr. Imranul Haque spoke on local government polls. He is chairman of the Marketing Department and director of the Research Cell at Jagannath University. He said local government polls are the election structure closest to the people. Without party symbols, voters may give more weight to a candidate’s personal identity, local acceptance and area development plan.

Professor Dr. Imranul Haque also said parties have local organisational strength and support, so national politics will not vanish fully even without party symbols. But he said this is very happy news for us. When local polls run on party lines, the friendly bond that people should have does not remain. Party symbols give a chance to split people apart.

He said people lose the chance to choose someone who is close to them and has good ties with them. Often, in polls with party symbols, the party becomes bigger than the person. So someone may win under a party symbol who would not have won so much acceptance without it. Local government polls are different from national polls, and the bond between the candidate and the common people matters far more.

For this reason, he said, holding local polls without party lines is the best decision. He added that people should surely praise this step by the government, which is good for the people and brings them benefit.

Still, this nonparty poll brings more than a change of symbols. The rules also change the deposit and the election spending of candidates. Under the new rules, a chairman candidate must pay a deposit of Tk 25,000. A general or reserved member candidate must pay Tk 5,000. A candidate who gets less than 15 percent of the votes cast will lose the deposit.

The highest election spending is Tk 10 lakh for a chairman candidate and Tk 2 lakh for a member candidate. The new rules also increase the power of the commission against election wrongdoing. If force, threats, rigging or any other wrongdoing badly affects the result of a polling centre, the commission can hold back that result. If needed, it can cancel the vote and order a new vote.

Election Commissioner Mr. Abdur Rahmanel Masud said the EC is getting ready to hold local government polls in phases. Because of the annual and public exams of students, the EC plans to start local polls in January, not in November or December. If the first phase takes place in the first week of January, the EC must announce the schedule 40 to 45 days before it.

He said talks on the UP election are still at an early stage, and no decision is final. He said the EC will start work by assuming the law and order situation is normal. On nonparty symbols, he said the decision gives weight to what common people want. He said the chance of party control exists only when polls use party symbols.

The commissioner said the EC may consider strengthening law and order further for top security and a fair election. He said the EC will try to hold the UP election as fairly as the national election. The UP polls will be held by area and in many phases. This will cut down wrongdoing, clashes and violence as much as possible.

Meanwhile, the country returns to nonparty symbols after a long time of party symbols in local polls. So this time, candidates get a chance to bring forward their personal identity, local acceptance, development plans and organisational strength. Even without party symbols, the local support and activity of political parties may still shape the polls. So the main focus under the new system will be on the neutrality of the Election Commission, the role of the administration, the law and order situation and a climate where voters can vote freely.