Local polls schedule to follow existing law, no bar on MPO teachers standing, says law minister

The biggest question hanging over the upcoming local government elections has been answered: if the law is not amended, the election schedule will be announced under the existing law, and MPO-listed teachers at non-government educational institutions will face no legal bar to standing as candidates for now. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman has said teachers can take part in the elections under the current law, and the Election Commission has taken the same position.

As a result, unless the law changes, MPO-listed teachers will be able to contest the upcoming Union Parishad elections. The electoral calculations of thousands of teachers depend on this single point, as many of them are preparing to stand at the local level.

The story does not end there, however. The Election Commission itself has sent a proposal to the local government ministry to amend the local government election law, recommending that MPO-listed teachers be declared ineligible to stand. If the law is amended before the schedule is announced, the teachers' chance to contest could close. The door is open for now, but an amendment hangs over it.

The commission has made several other amendment proposals as well. They include bringing the armed forces within the definition of law enforcement agencies for election purposes, and declaring not only loan defaulters but also their guarantors ineligible to stand. None of the proposals has taken effect yet, so the existing law remains the basis for determining a candidate's eligibility for the time being.

The commission's reasoning behind disqualifying teachers is clear. MPO-listed teachers receive government financial benefits. Allowing them to serve as public representatives could raise the question of holding two responsibilities at the same time, and the commission has also voiced concern that teaching at educational institutions could be disrupted.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud has said a candidate's eligibility will be determined by whichever law is in force on the day nomination papers are submitted. Any change to the law must therefore be made before that day, he noted, adding that a situation cannot arise in which teachers can stand in one area of the same election but not in another.

An explanation has also come from within the government. State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam recently said the question of MPO teachers' candidacy must be considered in light of the local government law and the education ministry's policies. The manpower structure of non-government institutions and the MPO Policy 2025 contain restrictions on holding more than one post or a post of financial benefit at the same time. At the same time, the view has been expressed that until non-government institutions are fully nationalised, there is no legal or policy bar on MPO teachers taking part in local government elections.

The voting dates are now also largely clear. At a commission meeting earlier this month, it was decided that the Union Parishad elections will be held in five phases. Under the planned schedule, voting will take place on 21 January 2027 in the first phase, 4 February in the second, 29 April in the third, 13 May in the fourth and 27 May in the fifth.

Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah has said an initiative had earlier been taken to hold the UP elections in seven phases, but the number was reduced to five because of a shortage of time. The aim is to complete elections for all union parishads whose terms expire by May next year, with priority given to those whose terms are ending.

He also outlined how the schedule will be announced. District election officers will declare the schedule, generally 42 to 45 days before voting. In fixing the election timing, programmes including Eid, educational institution examinations and the Bishwa Ijtema were taken into consideration, Sanaullah said.

Meanwhile, there has been a major change to the financial rules for candidates. The Election Commission has raised candidate deposits for Union Parishad elections fivefold and doubled the maximum election spending limit. Under the recently published amended election rules, a chairman candidate must deposit Tk25,000, while candidates for general and reserved member seats must deposit Tk5,000. Previously the deposits were Tk5,000 for chairman candidates and Tk1,000 for member candidates.

Spending limits have changed too. Under the new rules, a chairman candidate may spend up to Tk1 million on the election, while the ceiling for general and reserved member candidates has been set at Tk200,000. The previous limits were Tk500,000 and Tk100,000 respectively.

The condition for getting a deposit back has also been tightened. A candidate must now win at least 15 percent of the total votes cast; falling short means the deposit is forfeited to the state treasury. Previously the forfeiture threshold was one-eighth of the votes cast, and the new rules have raised that bar to 15 percent.

Taken together, the picture has two sides. On one side, election preparations are moving ahead on the basis of the existing law, with a five-phase voting schedule and higher deposits and spending limits. On the other, the commission's own amendment proposal on teachers' candidacy is sitting with the ministry. If it becomes law before the schedule, the calculations change; if not, MPO-listed teachers will be able to take the field under the current law. All eyes are now on that decision.