The government has issued an ordinance on amendments to the electoral law, clearing hurdles to municipal polls being organised on party lines.
Published : 02 Nov 2015, 07:30 PM
LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain informed bdnews24.com of the development on Monday.
The Cabinet last month cleared the amendments for holding elections to local government bodies on party lines.
But as the Election Commission planned to organise municipal polls in December and Union Parishad elections in January, the government said it would issue an ordinance and pass the other amendments in Parliament.
"We'll finish necessary tasks, including detailing the code of conduct, so that we can announce the polls schedule (by this month)," EC Secretary Sirazul Islam told bdnews24.com.
Local polls have largely been non-political but parties supported candidates.
The new amendments will allow political parties to field candidates for the local elections with their party symbols.
The BNP, which boycotted the 2014 parliamentary polls, has opposed the move, saying there was 'ulterior motive' behind it.
Several citizen groups say the latest move will discourage independent candidates since they will have to fulfil several conditions to contest the polls.
EC officials have said organising the first local polls on party lines would be a challenge.
It could not issue a new set of electoral code of conduct until the ordinance was promulgated.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on Sunday said the EC would be left with no option other than organising the municipal polls in December, like before, if the ordinance was not issued in several days.
He had said the EC was prepared to issue guidelines quickly after the ordinance.