District council chairpersons take oath

The chairpersons from the first ever election to district councils have taken oath of office.

The 59 council heads were sworn in by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office on Wednesday morning.

She then urged them to serve the cause of Bangladesh's development with ‘honesty and dedication’.   

Both regular and reserved seat ward members will be sworn in at Dhaka’s Osmani Memorial on Jan 18, said Local Government Division Secretary Abdul Malek.

The district council election to 61 districts, excluding the three in Chittagong Hill Tracts, was held on Dec 28.

But polling in Kushtia and Bogra was suspended following the High Court’s order. 

Awami League-backed candidates in 21 districts were elected without contest in the polls, which was rejected by the BNP and the Jatiya Party.

The polls which did not involve popular vote could not evince much interest from the public.

Local government representatives in each district elected a chairperson, 15 general members and five reserve seat members.  

A total 38 dissidents of the ruling Awami League party or backed by them won the polls.

The act passed by former military dictator HM Ershad in 1988 had a provision for appointing district chairperson by the government, but the law was later repealed.  

In 1989, direct polling was held in three hill tract districts.

The Awami League in 2000 drafted a new law for appointment of district chairperson by the government.

The following year, district-level leaders of the Awami League were appointed to the post in 61 districts.

The country’s first election for district council chairman was held as the tenure of their unelected predecessors was coming to an end.