Bangladesh clears amendment laws for local govt polls

Awami League insists, the local govt elections should be held on partisan basis

Bangladesh cabinet on Monday approved an amendment to a century-old system of electing local government bodies, by allowing political parties to nominate candidates for regional polls.

The local polls were not conducted along political party lines, though parties supported candidates.

"The cabinet approved a draft law proposing the new system after the bill is passed (in parliament), the local body elections will be held like the national elections," said cabinet secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.

"Political parties will nominate their candidates and they will contest the (local government) polls under party banners and symbols. But the (new) system will not bar anyone to contest the polls in their individual capacity as independent candidates," he said.

Bangladesh currently has four types of local government institutions with 'union parishad', a council of cluster of villages, being at the grassroots and the rest three are 'upazila' or sub-district council, district council and municipalities in urban areas while the major cities have city corporations headed by mayors.

But elections in all these institutions are held on non-party basis in theory, though major parties field their candidates turning the polls as contests between the parties.

"The new system will further strengthen democratic system and practices at the grassroots level," an official familiar with the cabinet meeting quoted local government minister Khondker Mosharraf Hossain as telling the council of ministers.

The legal provisions would now require the draft law passed in parliament but if the house does not go into session before December, the President could promulgate an ordinance amending the existing law relating to local government elections.

The development came as the election commission is preparing to stage a countrywide election of municipalities.

Since assuming power in 2009, Awami League insisted that the local government elections should be held on partisan basis and in February last year the party's highest policy making Working Committee took a resolution that political parties should be allowed to openly contest the local government polls.

The system was needed to streamline the government's development activities alongside removing unnecessary controversies about involvement of political parties in the local body polls, Awami League joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told PTI.

"The new system will also likely to ease the fund allocation systems for the local government institutions. The people want the local body polls to be held with participation of political party candidates," Hanif said.