Following the 13th parliamentary elections, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has now turned its attention to the upcoming local government elections, which the party views as a “second battle”. Preparations are underway for the elections to district, upazila and union parishad chairmanships, as well as for mayoral posts at pourashavas.
According to party sources, Jamaat is placing particular importance on city corporation elections. To that end, organisational preparations are being strengthened across all 12 city corporations in the country.
Under the law, city corporation elections must be held within the 180 days preceding the expiry of their terms. However, the five-year terms of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) expired in the first week of June 2025.
Election commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said at a programme at the Nirbachan Bhaban (EC headquarters) on 1 March that local government elections would be held throughout the year starting after Eid-ul-Fitr.
With the election commission’s plan now clear, Jamaat-e-Islami has begun its preparations accordingly. The party is said to be paying particular attention to the two Dhaka city corporations.
Jamaat’s ameer and Leader of the Opposition, Shafiqur Rahman, has described the local government elections as the party’s “second battle”.
A Jamaat source said that because of electoral alliances, some party leaders were unable to contest the parliamentary elections; they may receive priority in the local government polls.
Speaking at a party event in Sylhet on 27 February, he said, “Our second battle will now begin in the local government elections. Not a single position should remain vacant this time. In those places, we want to bring forward capable individuals from society—those who stood by us at great personal risk in the last election—and entrust them with these responsibilities.”
The following day, the party’s central executive council held a meeting at its central office in Dhaka. Alongside other agenda items, preparations for the local government elections were given considerable importance.
Sources present at the meeting said Jamaat is initially prioritising city corporation elections. In addition to the central leadership, local party units are also being involved in the process. Local branches have been instructed to send a three-member panel of potential candidates for city corporation elections to the central office. The party’s central executive council will make the final decision on nominations after verification and scrutiny of the lists.
For other local elections, candidates will be finalised at the district level. Directors of Jamaat’s 14 organisational regions will meet with district and upazila ameers, secretaries and other major officials to determine the candidates.
Earlier, on 20 February, Jamaat divided the country into 14 organisational regions and appointed 14 leaders as regional directors.
Party sources said candidates have already been finalised in some districts, upazilas and unions, while the selection process continues elsewhere. District and city units have been instructed to prepare preliminary lists of potential candidates. The party is emphasising grassroots opinion in the selection process and is seeking locally acceptable candidates.
No decision had been taken to field candidates jointly in the local government elections. The alliance will remain, but candidates will contest separately.Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, Jamaat assistant secretary general
After the fall of the Bangladesh Awami League government through the mass uprising on 5 August 2024, the interim government removed district council members, city corporation authorities, upazila parishads and municipal mayors. For the past one and a half years, these institutions have been run by government officials assigned additional responsibilities.
Administrators were also appointed to city corporations. After coming to power, the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)government appointed new administrators in six city corporations, a move that has generated considerable political debate and criticism.
A Jamaat source said that because of electoral alliances, some party leaders were unable to contest the parliamentary elections; they may receive priority in the local government polls.
Abdul Halim, member secretary of Jamaat’s national election steering committee and assistant secretary general of the party, told Prothom Alo that Jamaat was making extensive preparations for the local elections. However, candidates have not yet been finalised and discussions have only just begun.
Alliance-based or separate contests
During the interim government period, Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) had called for local government elections to be held before the national polls. After the new government assumed office, local government minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced that local government elections would be held soon.
However, it remains unclear whether the local government elections—like the national elections—will be contested under the banner of the 11-party electoral alliance. Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair told Prothom Alo that no decision had been taken to field candidates jointly in the local government elections. “The alliance will remain, but candidates will contest separately,” he said.
Party symbols or non-partisan polls
In 2015, the then Awami League government amended laws to introduce party-based elections with official symbols at five levels of local government. Accordingly, five separate laws governing local government institutions were amended.
However, after assuming office, the interim government abolished the provision for party symbols in elections to city corporations, district councils, upazila parishads, municipalities and union parishads. An ordinance related to the matter will be placed in the first session of the 13th parliament. If passed into law, local government elections will no longer be held under party symbols.
Local government minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has already said that the question of whether local government elections will be held under party symbols must be decided by the parliament. Only then will the election process formally begin.
Jamaat leaders also say the matter should be decided following parliamentary discussion. In this regard, Jamaat’s central nayeb-e-ameer Mujibur Rahman told Prothom Alo that local elections should be held under separate symbols. “Local government elections and national elections are two different matters,” he said.
According to assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, local government elections should ideally not involve party symbols, as this would allow voters to freely choose candidates of their preference.