Local government minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said that the issue of holding local government elections was under active consideration by the government, adding that the electoral process would begin swiftly once necessary preparations were completed.
He made the remarks while responding to a question from Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Zahirul Islam during a question-and-answer session in Jatiya Sangsad, presided over by speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
Replying to a question from independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana, the minister explained that local government elections were conducted in phases and that completing polls at all levels typically required between 10 months and one year.
The minister said that announcing the election schedule involved several considerations, including the preparation of voter lists, procurement of election materials, religious festivals, public examinations, weather conditions, finalisation and renovation of polling centres, as well as the appointment and training of election officials.
He said that at least 45 days were required for preliminary preparations before the schedule could be announced.
In response to a question from BNP lawmaker Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, the minister said that a project to procure 150,000 electronic voting machines, with an estimated cost of Tk 3,825.34 crore, had been implemented between July 2018 and June 2024.
He said that the machines had been procured through the Bangladesh Army under a delegated procurement method and that the project had been completed.
Minister said that although the project completion report had been submitted to the Implementation Evaluation Division on May 13, 2025, the evaluation report had not yet been received.
He said that audit objections raised by the Audit Directorate remained unresolved and that an investigation into the project was ongoing under the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The minister further informed JS that the Election Commission had decided not to use EVMs in any national or local elections.
He said the machines were currently being stored in various warehouses, at the Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, and in the basement of the Election Commission Secretariat.
Responding to a separate question from lawmaker Md Elias Mollah, the minister said that in December 2024 the interim government’s Public Administration Reform Commission had formally recommended the creation of two new divisions, Faridpur and Cumilla.
He said that the proposed Faridpur division would comprise five districts currently under Dhaka division — Faridpur, Madaripur, Rajbari, Gopalganj and Shariatpur — and that a final decision on the matter would be taken at a meeting of the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganisation.
