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Download PDF The LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry rejected the Election Commission’s (EC) much talked about proposal for disqualifying political leaders holding party posts from contesting in elections to city corporations and municipalities.
The ministry however decided to empower the EC with the authority of formulating the electoral rules for city corporations and municipalities, meaning the commission will be able to disqualify the political leaders from contesting in the polls if it wants, by including the provision in the new electoral rules.
The ministry last week finalised the draft laws on formations and functions of city corporations and municipalities, and also on the qualifications and disqualifications for being elected as representatives to the two types of local governments in urban areas, without incorporating the EC’s proposal.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said local government elections are absolutely non-partisan, so there is no need to include any provision in the laws disqualifying political leaders holding party posts from contesting in the polls.
“However, the Election Commission may include such restrictions in the elections rules, if it wants,” the LGRD adviser asserted.
He said the EC will be empowered with the authority to promulgate the election rules and the code of conduct for candidates contesting in elections to city corporations and municipalities, which now belongs to the LGRD ministry.
The EC made the proposal in a bid to free the local governments from the grip of partisan politics. The proposal said a political leader holding party post will have to resign from the party position to contest in elections to those local governments.
During EC’s second round of electoral reform talks with political parties between February 24 and 28, most of the parties vehemently opposed the proposal.
But, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda defended the proposal saying local governments’ orientation is to deliver services, and if political leaders holding party posts become elected representatives to local governments, they will not be able to perform their duties properly due to holding two posts in two different institutions.
Once the EC is empowered to promulgate election rules and the code of conduct for candidates contesting in elections to city corporations and municipalities, it will not have any obstacle to incorporating the proposal in the new law.
The EC already kept a provision for disqualifying political leaders holding party posts from contesting in polls to city corporations and municipalities, in its draft electoral rules for the two types of local governments, sources said.
In the draft code of conduct for candidates contesting in polls to city corporations and municipalities, the EC also kept provisions for imposing restrictions on using names of political parties or portraits of political leaders on electoral campaign posters, sources said.
Meanwhile, the LGRD ministry in an inter-ministerial meeting on March 11 finalised the drafts of Local Government Commission Ordinance 2008, City Corporation Ordinance 2008, and Municipalities Ordinance 2008.
Now, the ministry will send the draft ordinances to the council of advisers to the caretaker government for approval. Once the interim cabinet approves the drafts, the president will promulgate the ordinances turning them into laws.
The EC will announce the schedule for holding polls to four city corporations and seven municipalities after the laws are promulgated.
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