Cabinet clears amendment of laws for local govt polls on party lines

The Cabinet has cleared amendments that will pave the way for holding elections to local government bodies on political party lines.

So far, the local polls were not conducted along political party lines, though parties supported candidates.

Monday’s regular Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cleared the drafts for amendment to election laws for Union and Upazila councils, municipalities and city corporations.

Five laws are up for amendments so that registered political parties can field candidates in local government polls on their party symbols.

Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists that political parties could now field candidates for elections in all local government bodies like Zila, Upazila and Union Parishads, municipalities and city corporations.

"It would be exactly like parliamentary elections."

But since all municipality polls have to be held within December, an ordinance will have to promulgated after the amendments to the election laws are vetted.

However, after the amendments are vetted, the laws for holding polls to the Zilla Parishad, Upazila Parishad, Union Parishad and city corporations will be placed before Parliament for necessary passage.

“These amendments are marginal but their significance in our democratic culture is significant," Bhuiyan said.

Though elections to local bodies in Bangladesh have been non-partisan since independence, many describe that as a chimera.

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After the 2008 polls to four city corporations, the then Election Commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain had said: "It is only in law that our local body polls are non-partisan. For all practical purposes, political parties dominate these polls, so it is better they are held on party lines as that would make the parties responsible for the functioning of these bodies."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also pitched in for holding the elections of the local government bodies on party lines earlier this year.

Cabinet Secretary Bhuiyan said advanced democracies allow local government polls on party lines.

"Both in the UK and in India, political parties contest polls for the local bodies."

He said that the amendments would cut out the possibility of an existing council hanging on to power even on expiry of their term after five years.

"Fresh elections will be held on expiry of the tenure after five years. But if for some complications, that is not possible immediately, interim administrators appointed by the government will take over and work to organise the elections soonest," Bhuiyan said.

"The interim administrators can only be changed by the government."

This provision holds for only city corporations now but after the amendments will be extended to all types of local bodies.

About whether independent candidates will have to present a list of voters constituting one percent of the electorate to back up their nominations like in parliament elections, Bhuiyan said that will be finalised before the passage of the bill.

He said party candidates will use party logos in the local body polls and separate symbols will be allotted to independent candidates.