No party symbols in local government elections

Party symbols will no longer be used in local government elections. The 'Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Bill, 2026' was passed in the parliament session on Thursday. The bill was introduced by State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam.

Barrister Najib Momen, a Jamaat-e-Islami MP from Pabna-1 constituency, opposed the introduction of the bill. When Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal put the bill to the vote, the objection was rejected and it was passed by voice vote. After that, opposition MPs including Jamaat and NCP walked out in protest.

State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said that elections will be held in local government institutions as soon as possible after the bill is passed.

He said that through this law, arrangements have been made for elections using common symbols instead of national and party symbols. He also commented that if the bill had not been passed, those who took a stand against it during the July-August movement would have returned to the posts of mayor and councilor of the municipality.