On the last day of AKB48’s concert at Saitama Super Arena, it was announced that they will hold the 4th senbatsu election on 6th June. It'll be held at the Nippon Budokan like previous years.

This senbatsu election will be different from previous years. In the past, the top 21 members were chosen as the senbatsu members, featured on the A-side song of their singles, while #22 through #40 (#22 through #30 in the 1st election) served as the under girls and appeared on the single’s coupling tracks.


This time, the Election will have 64 ranks, divided into 4 equal groups.
01-16: Senbatsu
17-32
33-48
49-64
*The 3 groups after the senbatsu have no official titles yet.

Also, there will no longer be a "media senbatsu" (usually top 12 members), in which members in it will appear in the media more often. Instead, all 16 members ranked in the senbatsu will simply be counted as the media senbatsu.
This, along with the increase in number of ranks is most likely to cater to the ever-evolving 48 family, allowing more spots and chances to more girls. This year will be the their biggest election yet, with about 240 members participating.

Tickets for the 4th senbatsu election will most likely be included in their 26th Single, Manatsu no Sounds good!

There's still no mention yet whether Maeda Atsuko will be participating in this election or not, especially since she has just announced her plans for graduation.