On the first phase of the fifth upazila elections, voting likely to be held in 69 upazilas of around half of the districts in Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions.

The fifth upazila parishad elections will be held in five phases starting from March this year, Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed says.

The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the upazila parishad polls in the first week of February.

The Election Commission has started preparations to hold upazila council elections in March.