Government wants all local government elections done by June, allocates nearly Tk 6,000 crore
Photo: Collected
The government has set aside nearly Tk 6,000 crore for holding local government elections, with the goal of completing all five types of elections by next June. The Election Commission has been urged once again to this end, said State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam.
The state minister said this while answering various questions from journalists at the start of a preparatory meeting called at the Secretariat on Tuesday ahead of a village police rally.
He said the government does not want to bear even the slightest controversy or stain over the local government elections; this government is not willing to take on such a burden. The administration will be directed to play a neutral role to make the polls free, fair and impartial. Necessary steps will also be taken to ensure a level playing field for all so that no candidate gets any extra advantage. The field-level civil administration and police administration will be asked to work according to the instructions of those whom the Election Commission assigns.
Asked by journalists whether the local government elections would be made a role model, leaving behind the experience of controversial elections in the past, Mir Shahe Alam said they are not claiming to make a role model; their effort is to hold a free, fair and impartial election. He said there has not been a free, fair and impartial local government election in the country for a long time; the government will try to ensure that people get a neutral election in a festive atmosphere.
On what the government’s role in the elections will be, the state minister said the commission will be given the necessary cooperation, but the responsibility for conducting the elections lies with the commission. The government’s position is that the government and the administration should not interfere in the elections.
Alongside the election schedule, the state minister also raised the issue of proper use of the allocated funds. He said the government is repeatedly requesting the commission to complete the elections within the current fiscal year. If the commission cannot hold the elections in the set time, the allocated money may be carried over to the next fiscal year.
Mir Shahe Alam said they have kept a budget allocation of nearly Tk 6,000 crore. If the commission cannot complete the elections now, that budget will remain with them and will move to the next fiscal year. He remarked that the commission has to take this decision.
The government wants all local government elections, including those for city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and union parishads, to be completed by next June. However, whether all the elections can be held within this time depends on the Election Commission’s plans and capacity, the state minister said.
Asked whether the rest could be held by June if the union parishad elections ran into May, he said only the Election Commission can answer that. Holding elections is the commission’s responsibility; the government is only requesting that they be completed within the set time.
On how the schedule is being fixed, the state minister said the Election Commission held a meeting with the secretaries concerned, where the dates of several elections were tentatively fixed. The commission will also set the dates and method of holding the other elections in consultation with the secretaries concerned.
Mir Shahe Alam said again that the responsibility for holding the elections lies with the commission; how much they can or cannot do is for them to answer. The government will not hold the elections; the commission has to do it.
Through the journalists, the state minister renewed his request to the commission to complete the elections within the current fiscal year. He said the government wants all local government elections to be completed on time, and the government is ready to give the commission the necessary cooperation for this.
