In a significant move, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced its decision to boycott the upazila parishad elections across all phases.

This decision was conveyed by BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi through a press release issued on Tuesday following a meeting of the party's standing committee held on Monday night.

The press release cited the lack of a fair and peaceful election environment in previous national and local government elections under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina's government and the Election Commission as the primary reason for the boycott. BNP emphasized that the current "anarchic situation" has only exacerbated, providing logical grounds for their non-participation in the upcoming upazila polls.

The Election Commission had earlier announced the scheduling of the upazila parishad elections in four phases, with the first phase set for May 4, followed by subsequent phases on May 11, May 18, and May 25.