Bogura-6, Sherpur-3 by-election by April 14: EC
Staff Reporter:
The Election Commission is awaiting Parliament’s decision on whether to retain or scrap the provision for holding local government elections under party symbols, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters at his office in the Nirbachan Bhaban, Masud said the commission is closely watching how the
13th National Parliament addresses an ordinance that amended the relevant local government laws.
“For now, we are looking at what Parliament decides,” he said.
For years, mayors and chairmen of local government bodies have been elected under party symbols, a system that formalised partisan competition in municipal and upazila polls. However, both the Electoral Reform Commission and the Local Government Reform Commission recommended abolishing the provision for party-based nominations in local elections.
Acting on those recommendations, the interim government amended the relevant laws through an ordinance, effectively removing the provision for party symbols in such polls. Under the Constitution, however, any ordinance must be placed before Parliament at its first sitting and approved within a stipulated time, failing which it will lapse.
Masud said that, to his knowledge, the ordinance has already removed the provision for party nomination of mayoral candidates. “Parliament will now sit.
If it approves the ordinance, elections will be held accordingly. If the law reverts to its previous position, the arrangement will be different,” he said.
The uncertainty leaves the commission in a holding pattern regarding the framework under which upcoming local government elections will be conducted.
At the same time, the EC confirmed that two parliamentary by-elections will be held before April 14, ahead of Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year.
The Bogura-6 constituency fell vacant after Tarique Rahman, chairman of the BNP, resigned from the seat. In Sherpur-3, the commission had earlier postponed the election following the death of a candidate before polling day. The EC is constitutionally obligated to complete by-elections in both constituencies within the prescribed timeframe.
Masud said the commission has decided to conduct the by-polls in Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 before April 14 to meet legal requirements.
Regarding elections to reserved women’s seats in Parliament, the commissioner said the process has already begun. “We will complete it within the stipulated timeframe. The schedule will be announced soon,” he added.
The commission’s remarks come at a time when electoral reforms and procedural adjustments are under renewed scrutiny, with Parliament’s forthcoming session expected to determine whether local government elections will continue to be contested along party lines or shift to a non-partisan format.
