The Local Government Reform Commission has proposed holding all local government elections under a single schedule before the next national election.

The voter list being prepared for the national election can be utilised in the local government polls, according to the full report of the commission submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday.

Elections to all local government bodies, including those in the hill tracts, could be held this year, reads the report.

To do this, an ordinance can be issued to enact two laws regarding the five local government bodies -- union parishad, upazila parishad, municipality, zila parishad, and city corporation.

The two laws would consolidate five existing laws and regulations to ensure a free and robust local government system, says the report.

The commission recommended forming a permanent local government commission which may get these tasks done by this June.

In future, local government elections should be held during the tenure of caretaker governments, reads the report.

Prof Tofail Ahmed, head of the reform commission, said the decision regarding local government polls can be made collectively by the government and political parties.

"However, we strongly advocate for holding local government elections immediately, as there is currently a leadership vacuum at the union, upazila, and zila levels across the country," he said while addressing a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy after submitting the report.

Upon receiving the report, the chief adviser expressed his strong commitment to transparency and public engagement with the reform process, according to the Chief Adviser's Press Wing. "Let us not delay. These reforms must move from paper to practice as soon as possible," he said.

Tofail said, "We are recommending that the Consensus Commission review and reflect on the report."

The commission's report also identifies critical challenges facing urban local bodies, particularly the Dhaka city corporations.

"Departmental inefficiencies and rampant bribery remain persistent," Tofail said. "From large infrastructure projects to everyday services, corruption flows through multiple layers — project-level, service-level, and inter-departmental. Unless we address these, effective governance will remain a dream."

The interim government formed the eight-member Local Government Reform Commission led by local governance expert Prof Tofail Ahmed in November last year. It submitted a preliminary report on February 19.

The commission also made around 180 other recommendations that include handing over the tasks of 30 government offices to the zila parishads in the three hill tract districts.

The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs should be the overseeing authority of the local government bodies of the three districts.

In the long run, there should be city governments in Dhaka and Chattogram. The city government system can be tested in the nine city corporations.

The report says local government institutions are facing challenges and struggling to maintain effective coordination with the central government. Administrative complexities, financial constraints, and legal ambiguities often hinder the efficiency of local government institutions.

To overcome these challenges, the formation of a permanent and effective Local Government Commission could create opportunities for the development, decentralisation, and quality enhancement of local government services, it added.

The full report says the term "local administration" should be replaced with "local government" in the constitution.

It recommends that article 119(1) of the constitution include a new line, "The Election Commission shall independently conduct elections of local [government] councils." This would enable the EC to constitutionally schedule local elections, without having to wait for the government's request.

The reform commission proposed a parliamentary model for all local government institutions across the country.

Like the national government, local governments can adopt a parliamentary system. In local elections, only members or councillors would be directly elected by public vote. Subsequently, executive positions such as mayor or chairman would be elected internally by the respective councils, says the report.

If the proposals are implemented, holding the local government elections would take one or two months. Currently, it takes around 225 days, says Prof Tofail.

It will also save public money, he said, adding that between 2021 and 2024, the government spent approximately Tk 2,300 crore on local government elections.

Reserved women's seats in each local government institution can be filled through a rotational ward reservation system. This would eliminate duality in representation and allow women to participate in governance and development through their own constituencies.

A uniform organisational structure should exist across both rural and urban institutions. A dedicated service structure called "Local Government Service" should be established, allowing for both upward and downward mobility within the system. Personnel should be able to move between Union Parishads and City Corporations, enabling promotion and transfers.

Each ward of a union parishad can consist of a population of 1,200–1,500, which means every union parishad will have a minimum of 9 wards and a maximum of 39 wards. Currently, each ward accommodates a population ranging from 5,000 to 4,75,000.

The commission also proposed the introduction of a ward system for upazila and zila parishads.

At the upazila level, it suggested the establishment of civil and criminal courts, along with alternative dispute resolution (ADR) courts. These ADR courts would operate under the leadership of a senior assistant judge to efficiently resolve disputes.

The commission recommended handing over the upazila health complexes and union health and family welfare centres, along with their manpower and resources, to the respective upazila parishads and union parishads.

It proposed transferring the 14,000 community clinics, most of which are nearly non-functional, to the union health and family welfare centres. Union parishads and upazila parishads may also be given the authority to oversee the primary education system.

It proposed that one-third of the VAT should be allocated to the local government bodies. Only union parishads, municipalities and city corporations will be entitled to collect taxes.